The Hogwarts Sisters Strikes Back
by Selene13
Summary: The Hogwarts Sisters are back! Athena went back to 1983 again to see her longlost sort of brother and when she got back, she helps the Hogwarts Sisters to mend a broken relationship....at a terrible price. ADMM, PoppyOC RR Please! LAST CHAPTER UPLOADED
1. The Boy In The Picture

The Hogwarts Sisters Strike Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Chapter 1: The Boy In the Picture  
  
17-year-old Athena Dumbledore carried her box of old books up the stairs, stopped at a wooden door that lead to the attic and opened it. She stood against the door to prevent it from closing and with one foot; she pushed the box into the attic. She searched for the light and switched it on. The yellowish light filled the attic immediately and Athena closed the door. She carried the box and began to look for a place to put her box when she saw a big box with her father's handwriting: "Achilles."  
  
"Achilles?" Athena read. "Who is Achilles?"  
  
She put the box near the door and walked to the big box. She kneeled down, looked around as if there would be somebody watching and opened it. The first thing she saw was a Muggle photo of a smiling handsome boy around her age with black hair and green eyes. She put it down and saw another photo of her parents and the boy who looked around 5-year-old, standing in front of the house. The boy had both of his arms around her mother's shoulders, who was carrying him. Athena noticed that the photos must have taken a long time ago, because her mother looked so young. She put the photo down and continued to search the box. She found an old quill, inkbottle, Quidditch robes and a few more photos. She frowned. Who was this boy? Where was he now? She picked up the first photo and went downstairs. Maybe her mother knew who this boy was.  
  
***  
  
Minerva was in the kitchen with the Hogwarts Sisters, listening to Madeline (Mandy) Hooch talking about her step great-grandson.  
  
"So little Jonathan managed to throw the mini Quaffle across the living room to Oliver. You should see Oliver's face, he looked so happy." Mandy said.  
  
"And little Mandy?" Poppy, who was sitting beside Minerva, asked.  
  
"She managed to catch the Quaffle. Katie complained that Oliver was planning to brainwash the children so that they could be like him." Mandy said and the Hogwarts Sisters laughed.  
  
"Mom, Mom!" Athena called from the stairs.  
  
"In here!" Minerva called back.  
  
Athena came into the kitchen and showed Minerva the photo. "Mom, who is this?" She asked.  
  
Minerva's eyes widened and she jumped up from her seat. Poppy stood up too and held Minerva firmly. "Minerva, no!"  
  
"Athena, Athena, give the photo to me, I want to tear it!" Minerva said hysterically.  
  
Instead of handing Minerva the photo, Athena backed away.  
  
"Where did you get that from?" Georgia Sprout demanded.  
  
"Give it to me!" Minerva yelled. "I want to tear it! He's dead! He's dead, you hear me?!"  
  
"Come on, Athena, let's get out of here!" Mandy said, grabbing Athena's hand and pulling her out of the kitchen. Then they heard a loud cry from the kitchen.  
  
"What's going on?" Dumbledore said, coming down the stairs.  
  
"Dumbledore, you better give Minerva some help, she is crying over You-Know- Who again!" Mandy said.  
  
"Who, Voldemort?" Athena asked, still clutching the photo in her hand.  
  
"No, the other You-Know-Who!" Mandy said.  
  
Dumbledore rushed into the kitchen and Athena looked into the kitchen timidly. Minerva was in Dumbledore's arms, sobbing. Poppy said quietly to Dumbledore. "I'm going to make her some coffee. Maybe she will calm down."  
  
"What's going on?" Athena asked Mandy.  
  
"Where did you get that?" Mandy asked.  
  
"From the attic. Now who is this boy? Why is Mom so upset over him?" Athena asked.  
  
"Athena, this boy is your brother." Mandy said quietly. 


	2. 1983

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Chapter 2: 1983  
  
"Brother?" echoed Athena in bewilderment. "But I don't have a brother! Even though I would like to have one...."  
  
"You do have a brother. If I remember correctly, he must be 38-years-old now." said Mandy firmly.  
  
"Then where is he? Why isn't he living here?" asked Athena.  
  
"Err....he got into a huge argument with your mother and in anger, he moved out. Great Wizards knows where is he now." said Mandy.  
  
"What kind of argument?" asked Athena again.  
  
"Achilles wanted to be an Auror but Minerva wouldn't let him, saying that it was too dangerous, with all the Death-Eaters, giants and whoever supports Voldemort lurking around the wizarding world during that period. She didn't want to lose him like we lost William and Nicholas."  
  
"So he got mad and just moved out?" asked Athena.  
  
"Yeah, that boy has a quick temper. He maybe as charming as your dad but he doesn't has Albus' temper. He is as stubborn and impatient as your mother." Mandy sighed. "And Albus couldn't find him. Minerva was so mad at Achilles that she announced that she didn't have a son like that. Such a shame. He is sweet, cute and playful too. He was even the Head Boy! If only you were born earlier....."  
  
Minerva rushed out of the kitchen with Dumbledore behind her heels. Athena shoved the photo into her pocket in case Minerva grabbed it from her and tore it.  
  
Minerva glared at Athena with tears in her eyes and said: "Athena, don't listen to Mandy. You don't have a brother now. Achilles Dumbledore is as good as dead, you hear me? HE HAS BEEN DEAD FOR 20 YEARS!" She ended the sentence by shouting the last few words and she stormed upstairs.  
  
"I think your mother needs a bit of time to calm down. Try not to disturb her for the rest of the day, all right?" Dumbledore whispered and Athena nodded.  
  
***  
  
Such a shame....  
  
He is sweet, cute and playful...  
  
If only you were born earlier.....  
  
That night, Athena thought over Mandy's words over and over again. She got up from her bed and took the photo from her desk where she left it that afternoon. She stared at the boy in the picture closely. Achilles had Minerva's eyes and hair but he looked a bit like Dumbledore too. He looked so sweet that Athena was dying to get close to him, play with him and get a taste of being a little sister. Athena grabbed her wand from her desk, waved and pointed it at the picture, trying to make Achilles move in the picture.  
  
But it didn't work.  
  
"But nobody knows where he is now. If only I could go back in time without using the Time-Turner...." sighed Athena, climbed back on her bed and lay down. "Bro, I miss you, where are you now...." She said softly and closed her eyes with the photo and her wand still in her hands.  
  
***  
  
"Miss, Miss, wake up! Hey, Sleeping Beauty, wake up!" A voice sang and Athena opened her eyes.  
  
The first thing she saw was a pair of green eyes.  
  
"Argh!" screamed Athena loudly and the boy with the green eyes backed away immediately.  
  
"Whoa! Hey, hey, I am sorry to wake you up...." said the boy. "But I saw you sleeping here and I wondered why you didn't go upstairs to sleep."  
  
Athena blinked and stared at the boy with her mouth dropped open. "Achilles?"  
  
Achilles raised his black eyebrow. "How did you know my name?"  
  
"Wait a minute, why are you here?" asked Athena.  
  
"What do you mean, why am I here? I am the Head Boy and a Gryffindor and this is the Gryffindor Common Room!" said Achilles and stared at Athena. "Don't tell me that you are from another House."  
  
Athena didn't answer.  
  
"Hey, if you are from another House, especially Slytherin, I am going to tell Mom. She is the Head of....." started Achilles.  
  
"Gryffindor House and the Deputy Headmistress. She is my mother too, you know!" said Athena in annoyance.  
  
"Huh?" asked Achilles, scratching his head.  
  
"I didn't know that you have a sister, McGonagall!" said a boy with untidy black hair and hazel eyes as he walked past.  
  
"This is our conversation, so go away, Potter." called Achilles and Potter walked away. "I don't have a sister!" he said, turning his attention back to Athena.  
  
Athena sat up from the couch and looked around. She was in the Gryffindor Common Room instead of her bedroom. She held up her hands. "W-wait, let me get this straight. Who are you?"  
  
Achilles gave her an impatient look then he opened his mouth and said: "Achilles McGonagall."  
  
Athena blinked. "I thought that your surname is Dumbledore."  
  
Achilles' eyes widened and he said sharply with his finger on his lips: "Sh! Hey, this is the rise of Voldemort's period! You want people to know that I am Albus Dumbledore's son? People will kill me or kidnap me to get information about Mom and Dad!"  
  
"Sorry. A-and what year is this?"  
  
Achilles folded his arms. "Don't get cute with me, girl." He growled.  
  
"I am not getting cute with you!" snapped Athena impatiently.  
  
"Ooooo, McGonagall is arguing with a girl!" A handsome boy with dark hair teased as he walked down staircase from the boys' dormitories.  
  
"Be it, Sirius Black!" yelled Achilles and Sirius scampered off to the portrait.  
  
"Okay, the year is 1983. Satisfied?" asked Achilles.  
  
"Not again!" exclaimed Athena.  
  
"What do you mean by "Not again" ?" asked Achilles again. "Oh great, this is getting confusing...."  
  
"I want to see Professor McGonagall, immediately!" demanded Athena.  
  
"No way." said Achilles firmly.  
  
"Look, you don't understand, I have to see her!" said Athena desperately. "She will understand!"  
  
"Oh, just let her see your Mom already! She is disturbing the peace and quiet in here!" called a handsome boy with brown hair from where he was sitting. He had a book in his hands.  
  
"All right, Remus. Come on, girl." He said and Athena got up. Realizing that she still had her photo and wand in her hands, she stuffed them into her pockets.  
  
"I don't know what Mandy meant by Achilles is sweet...." thought Athena as she left the common room with Achilles.  
  
***  
  
"All right, this is my Mom's office. Say the truth, all right? Or she will not be happy." said Achilles to Athena outside Minerva's office.  
  
"I know." said Athena.  
  
Achilles frowned at her deeply and knocked the door.  
  
"Come in." called Minerva from inside.  
  
Achilles opened the door and let Athena in first before entering himself. After the door closed, he said: "Mom, this girl claims to be my sister."  
  
Athena swallowed nervously as she watched Minerva lifted her head up from what she was doing at her desk. "Please, let her remember me....." She thought.  
  
Minerva stared at Athena for a moment before her mouth dropped open. She put down her quill quickly and exclaimed: "Athena?"  
  
Achilles raised his eyebrows. He thought that the first thing his mother was going to question this strange girl. "You know her, Mom?"  
  
"Of course." said Minerva impatiently. She got up from her seat, rushed to Athena and hugged her tightly. "Oh, you are back, you are back...."  
  
"Hey, what is going on?" demanded Achilles.  
  
"Achilles, go and get your father, Mandy, Poppy and Georgia. Tell them that Athena is back from the future." said Minerva quickly and excitedly.  
  
"Huh?" said Achilles.  
  
"Just go!" said Minerva and Achilles rushed out. "Oh my Goodness, look at you, you still looked as the same as I last saw you 33 years ago. Where had you gone after Christmas in 1950?" She demanded after she had let go of Athena.  
  
"Back to the future." said Athena shortly.  
  
"Oh. Well, you should have stayed for my wedding." said Minerva in disappointment. "Now let's wait for your father and the rest of the Hogwarts Sisters. Achilles didn't scare you, did he?"  
  
"Err....." said Athena.  
  
"He is pretty nice once you get to know him. Once he accepts the fact that you are his sister, he will treat you like a gem." said Minerva and the door flew open.  
  
Athena heard a delighted scream; turned around and immediately she was covered with darkness as someone hugged her. When the person let go, she saw Mandy grinning at her. "Mandy!"  
  
"Hi, Athena, long time no see!" said Mandy before she kissed Athena's cheeks. "Boy, you still looked the same."  
  
"But look at us, we are grown-ups now." said Poppy and shook Athena's hand.  
  
"And we are getting old." said Georgia and she shook Athena's hand as well.  
  
"Don't say that." said Dumbledore and hugged Athena. "Hello, Athena, welcome back."  
  
"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" asked Achilles.  
  
"Achilles," said Dumbledore, releasing Athena and put his arm around her shoulders. "This is your sister, Athena. She comes from the future."  
  
"The year 2003." said Mandy.  
  
"2004," corrected Athena. "It's already 2004 in my time."  
  
"She was, I mean, is, born in the year 1986." said Poppy.  
  
"She came to the year 1950 once, but then she disappeared and now she is back." said Georgia.  
  
"You are joking." said Achilles after a while.  
  
All of the people except Athena and Achilles shook their heads.  
  
"Albus, my Hogwarts Sisters, Athena, let me explain to Achilles. All of you please, go outside." said Minerva gently and they did.  
  
***  
  
"Boy, you are correct!" said Mandy excitedly to Athena outside Minerva's office. "I am the flying instructor now! But you didn't tell me that I would be a Holyhead Harpies Beater too."  
  
"I didn't know that you were a Beater until Oliver Wood told me." said Athena and put her hand to her mouth when she saw Mandy's face darkened. "Oops."  
  
"Athena, when you go back to the future, don't go anywhere near Oliver Wood." warned Mandy  
  
"Why?" asked Athena slowly.  
  
"Because the Wood boys are good for nothing! His grandfather is a bastard and I bet this Oliver is too!" Mandy spat.  
  
"Err....." started Athena, wondering whether to tell Mandy that that was all a big mistake.  
  
***  
  
½ hour later, Minerva's door finally open and Achilles and Minerva came out. Achilles had a bright smile on his face and Minerva followed with her hands on Achilles' shoulders.  
  
"Looks like your mother has convinced him." said Dumbledore.  
  
Achilles walked to Athena and said, "Mom told me the whole story. I know that Mom will never lie. So I believe her. Sorry if I, err, scared you just now."  
  
Athena gave a small smile. "It's okay."  
  
Achilles grinned widely, showing his beautiful teeth and held out his hand. Athena shook it as he said, "Welcome to 1983, Sis." 


	3. Memories

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 3: Memories  
  
Meanwhile, in the year 2004...  
  
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore at night, "Are you asleep?"  
  
Minerva just lay on the bed without even lifting her head to look at Dumbledore. Her green eyes were wide open.  
  
Dumbledore sat on their bed beside Minerva. "Minerva, are you still thinking about what happened today?"  
  
Instead of answering his question, Minerva sat up on the bed and asked, "Albus, am I being too harsh on Achilles?"  
  
"Well, not harsh. But you are slightly overprotective." said Dumbledore after a while.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"You see, Minerva, being a parent, one must learn to let go. You can't keep Achilles or Athena beside you forever. You should let Achilles be an Auror when he wanted to 19 years ago. In the future, if Athena wants to be a curse-breaker in Gringotts, you need to give in too."  
  
"I-I just don't want to lose Achilles like we lose William and Nicholas." said Minerva softly with her voice trembling. "B-but he doesn't understand me, do you remember what he said before he left? He said...." she started and began to think back.  
  
***  
  
1984  
  
"Look Mom, you don't understand, I have to be an Auror! Voldemort is out there, torturing Muggle-borns and Muggles with his supporters, I have to be a part of the Magical Law Enforcement, the more dark wizards I catch, the safer the wizarding world is! Don't you see? I am trying to make the wizarding world a safer place to live!" yelled 18-year-old Achilles from the front door at his mother, who was standing in the living room. Dumbledore was sitting on an armchair, folding his arms and looking at them.  
  
"There are other Aurors to catch the dark wizards!" snapped Minerva.  
  
"One person can make a difference!" Achilles shot back.  
  
Minerva frowned and folded her arms. "Yeah right, who do you think you are, young man? The Muggle hero Superman?"  
  
Achilles went silent for a while. Then he shouted, "Do you want me to just sit back and watch helplessly as Voldemort and his supporters use their Three Unforgivable Curses on everyone they see?! That is not my style, Mom!"  
  
"Don't talk to me about style, Achilles! I am talking about your safety now!" screamed Minerva.  
  
"How long are you going to pretend that there is no such person called Voldemort? We are at war with him and his supporters now. Do you think that victory is possible without facing danger?" asked Achilles quietly, trying to be as calm as possible.  
  
"No. That's why I won't let you to be an Auror!" screeched Minerva. "Go back to your bedroom, now!"  
  
Achilles glared at his mother menacingly, walked past her quickly and stormed upstairs. He slammed his bedroom door shut and a few minutes later, he opened his door again and came downstairs with his backpack. He walked past his parents as if they were invisible, got his shoes and sat down to put them on.  
  
"Achilles, where are you going?" asked Dumbledore gently.  
  
"Out." said Achilles shortly.  
  
"Where?" asked Dumbledore again.  
  
Achilles didn't answer.  
  
"Achilles, your father is asking you a question!" said Minerva sternly.  
  
"It's all right, Minerva....." started Dumbledore when Achilles got up and shouted: "Away from this house!" He faced them. "Especially you, Mom! I am not a child anymore, people who are younger than I am have already started their education in the Magical Law Enforcement!"  
  
"You are not an adult either!" snapped Minerva.  
  
"I will be an Auror no matter what!" roared Achilles and reached for the doorknob.  
  
"ACHILLES DUMBLEDORE! IF YOU DARE TO STEP OUT OF THIS HOUSE...." began Minerva and Dumbledore jumped up from his seat.  
  
He rushed to Achilles and put his hand on his shoulder. "Achilles, don't." pleaded Dumbledore.  
  
Achilles put his own hand to his father's and removed it. "Goodbye, Dad. I can't stay here. I will miss you." said Achilles in a hoarse voice and whispered: "Send my love to my dear future sister when she is born."  
  
He shifted his bag, glared at his mother again, opened the door and left. Minerva's mouth dropped open and she screamed hysterically, "Fine! Just go! I don't care if you die in the hands of Voldemort!" Then she went to a chair, sat down and buried her face in her hands.  
  
***  
  
2004  
  
Dumbledore pulled Minerva close to him and patted her back as she cried in his arms. "There, there, Minerva...."  
  
"I wish that I could see him again just for one minute." said Minerva, her voice muffled. "But he has been disappeared for 20 years, I don't even know if he is dead or alive......"  
  
"He is alive somewhere. I can feel it." whispered Dumbledore and stroked Minerva's hair. "Try to get some sleep now, Minerva."  
  
Minerva nodded and Dumbledore released her. Dumbledore reached out and switched off the lamp. They lay down together and Dumbledore removed her tears away with his finger and watched as Minerva fell asleep. A few minutes later, before Dumbledore drifted off to sleep, he swore that he heard his wife crying softly in the dark.  
  
***  
  
1983  
  
"It's great that you came here today, Athena." said Achilles as he and Athena walked to the Great Hall. "We have a Quidditch match today! And I am the Captain and Beater of the Gryffindor team! Wait until you see my team's Quidditch moves, I invent them myself!" He said with a mixture of cheerfulness and excitement.  
  
"Now this I got to see!" said Athena.  
  
Then Achilles stopped so abruptly that Athena almost bumped into him. He turned around to face her and ask, "What do you mean by that? You mean that I have never played Quidditch in front of you in the future?"  
  
"Err....." started Athena.  
  
"Nah, you will explain to me later after the match." said Achilles and turned around again to walk to the Great Hall.  
  
***  
  
"Hey there, McGonagall! Who is the babe?" asked Sirius and grinned as Achilles and Athena came to the Gryffindor table.  
  
Athena scowled at Sirius; she hated people calling her "babe". "Don't "babe" me, Sirius Black. I hate that." she said darkly.  
  
Sirius blinked in surprise. "How do you know my name?" he asked.  
  
Athena ignored him.  
  
"Everyone, this is my, err, twin sister, Athena. She had been transferred here from, err, a school in Ireland." said Achilles and crossed his fingers in his pocket.  
  
Remus Lupin held out his hand. "How do you do, Miss McGonagall." he said politely.  
  
"This is our Prefect, Remus Lupin." said Achilles as Athena shook Lupin's hand. "This is troublesome duo ("Oh come on, Achilles, you don't mean that right?" asked James.) James Potter and Sirius Black, this is Peter Pettigrew..."  
  
Athena raised her eyebrow that Peter, thinking of how much damage that a plump, short and timid-looking boy could do to cause the Second Voldemort War by helping his master to return. She scowled again at Peter, as if he had just said, "The Dark Lord is the greatest sorcerer in the world and your father isn't."  
  
"It was your entire fault, if it wasn't for you, Harry would still have parents and Sirius would not be in Azkaban for more than 11 years." she thought furiously.  
  
Peter gulped, wondering what he had done to provoke her.  
  
"She looked exactly like Professor McGonagall when she scowls." whispered Sirius to James.  
  
Achilles didn't notice anything. "This is Lily Evans." he continued.  
  
Athena stopped scowling and turned to smile at Lily. Lily held out her hand and she shook it. "Hello, Lily."  
  
"So James, are you ready for today's match?" asked Achilles as he and Athena sat down.  
  
"Ready as ever." said James confidently as he ruffled his hair.  
  
Athena noticed that Lily was rolling her eyes in annoyance.  
  
"But I think you better check on Wood, through." added James.  
  
"Wood?" asked Athena.  
  
"Charles Wood, Oliver Wood's uncle." whispered Achilles and turned back to James. "What happened to Wood?"  
  
"Snape hexed him just now when he was not looking, now he is in the hospital wing with some bluish thing covering his eyes. Madam Pomfrey said that it would probably take hours to get that thing off." said Sirius in a flat tone.  
  
"Oh no, not now! Wood is one of the Beaters! And the match is going to start in an hour!" groaned Achilles.  
  
"I know. I try to hex Snape too, but then the Head of the Slytherin House caught me and took 5 points away from Gryffindor for attempting to use magic in the corridor!" said Sirius and he gave a glare at the Slytherin table. "Can't believe that I am related to one of those snakes." He said in disgust.  
  
"Now what are we going to do? We don't even have a reserve Beater!" said Achilles helplessly.  
  
"What about Athena? Can she play Quidditch?" asked Lily and all heads turned to Athena.  
  
"Err...." started Athena.  
  
"Well?" asked Achilles impatiently.  
  
"I am okay at Quidditch...." said Athena slowly. "But I don't play in real matches."  
  
"Who cares?" said James, waving his hand. "Are you a good Beater?"  
  
"Fair." said Athena shortly.  
  
"Good! Athena, you will be our reserve Beater for today!" said Achilles happily and got up from the table. "I'm going to tell Mom!" He said and practically skipped off to the High Table. 


	4. The Quidditch Match

The Hogwarts Sisters Strike Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated PG-13 for Content  
  
Chapter 4: The Quidditch Match  
  
"Scared, Athena?" Achilles asked just before the match in the changing room.  
  
"A little." Athena said, clutching her broom (that she borrow from Mandy) tightly with her sweaty hand.  
  
"It's all right, I just hope that you won't do the same thing I did during my first match." Achilles said kindly.  
  
"What happened?" Athena asked as she tried to wipe her hand dry on her robes.  
  
Achilles suddenly looked very busy with his broom as he examined it for scratches.  
  
"Bro?" Athena asked.  
  
Achilles continued to examine his broom.  
  
"He accidentally sent a Bludger towards the audience and it hit Snape on the face!" James said, grinning.  
  
"I didn't mean to!" Achilles protested, lifting his head from his broom.  
  
"Mean to, didn't mean to, what's the difference?" James asked.  
  
Achilles ignored him. "All right, team, let's move out!"  
  
***  
  
"And they are off!" Gilderoy Lockhart (A sixth year Hufflepuff) yelled into the megaphone as the fifteen brooms (counting Mandy's) flew into the air. "And today the Gryffindor team has a reserved Beater, since the original Beater, Charles Wood, is in the hospital wing. And she is Athena McGonagall, Achilles McGonagall's twin sister! Look at her, she is a beauty! Wonder if she will fell in love with me......"  
  
"Lockhart, the commentary!" Minerva growled.  
  
Athena rolled her eyes when she heard Lockhart's words. "Still as stupid as ever." She mumbled and beat a Bludger towards a Slytherin player who had the Quaffle.  
  
The Bludger hit the player and he dropped the Quaffle. James zoomed straight to the Quaffle and caught it easily.  
  
"Look at how Athena hit the Bludger, she is wonderful!" Lockhart yelled over the Gryffindor's female supporters cheers for James. "Absolutely good at her Bludger work! I hope she stays in the team, she is beautiful, talented....."  
  
"GILDEROY LOCKHART, STOP COMMENTING ABOUT MY DAUGHTER AND GET BACK TO THE COMMENTARY!!!" Minerva screeched in fury.  
  
Even from the sky, Achilles could hear his mother screaming. He saw a Bludger flying towards Athena from behind and he flew straight to her. He whacked the Bludger away from his sister just before the Bludger could hit her head.  
  
"Watch yourself, Athena!" He shouted and flew off immediately to hit another Bludger.  
  
Athena ignored the situation around her and concentrated on looking for a Bludger to hit. She noticed a Bludger flying straight towards James and Achilles was too far away to get to it. She zoomed towards it, yelled at James to get out of the way and hit the Bludger towards a Slytherin player.  
  
"James, Kenneth! Do the C game!" Achilles yelled furiously as he chased a Bludger.  
  
C game? Athena thought in confusion. This must be one of the new moves that Achilles had mentioned. Seeing the puzzled looks on the Slytherins' faces, Athena assumed that they had no idea what the hell Achilles was talking about either.  
  
James and Kenneth Bell, however, seemed to understand Achilles. James, who had the Quaffle, flew straight towards the Gryffindor goalposts. Kenneth flew to the Slytherin goalposts and then struck out his tongue at a Slytherin Chaser, Scott Flint.  
  
Scott scowled at Kenneth while he said: "Nah nah, you cannot catch me!"  
  
James flew to a stop near the Gryffindor goalposts, turned his head and grinned at Kenneth, who was now flying towards him with an angry Scott Flint on his tail. James clutched the Quaffle tighter as if it was a chest full of Galleons with one arm and made a rude gesture at another Slytherin Chaser.  
  
"Catch me if you can!" James yelled and flew towards the Slytherin goalposts.  
  
"Ooh, James Potter and Kenneth Bell are going to collide if they don't change directions!" Lockhart yelled into the megaphone.  
  
"Not yet, not yet...." James muttered as he flew straight towards Kenneth.  
  
Kenneth swallowed as he flew to James. What if the plan didn't work?  
  
"GO LEFT, NOW!" James roared and Kenneth flew sharply to the left while James flew to the right.  
  
The two Slytherin Chasers had no idea that they would do that stunt, in the end they collided with each other. "OW!"  
  
"Ooh! Looks like the two Slytherin Chasers have bloody noses now!" Lockhart laughed.  
  
James grinned when he turned his head to see Scott Flint's nose bleeding and zoomed to the Slytherin goalposts.  
  
"AND JAMES POTTER SCORES! TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!" Lockhart shouted as the Gryffindor roared in happiness.  
  
Minerva clapped furiously and cheered as she watched James giving a high- five to Kenneth.  
  
****  
  
"LOOKS LIKE LONGBOTTOM HAVE SEEN THE GOLDEN SNITCH!" Lockhart yelled ½ hour later as Frank Longbottom zoomed towards the Ravenclaw stands.  
  
The Slytherin Seeker, Andrew Pucey, flew straight next to Frank and he scowled at Frank. "Out of my way, Longbottom! That's my Golden Snitch!"  
  
"No way!" Frank yelled and started to reach out for the Golden Snitch.  
  
"Way!" Andrew snapped and he elbowed Frank in the ribs, hard.  
  
"OW!" Frank cried and Mandy blew her whistle. "NO COBBING! PENALTY TO GRYFFINDOR!" She screeched.  
  
As she did, the Golden Snitch flew out of sight.  
  
The Slytherins booed and hissed at Mandy's judgment.  
  
"Kenneth Bell flies forward to take the penalty, and...HE SCORES! ANOTHER GOAL FOR GRYFFINDOR! THEY LEAD BY 60 TO 30! BETTER BUCK UP, SLYTHERIN!"  
  
The Slytherins continued to hiss as the Gryffindors applauded loudly.  
  
As Achilles was near the Slytherin stands, he could hear them saying to each other: "Hooch is a bias bitch, her godson is the Gryffindor captain and Beater, and McGonagall is her best friend, that's why she is letting the Gryffindors to have their way. I bet that the Gryffindor team will be useless if there is a change of referee...."  
  
Achilles scowled darkly. How dare the Slytherins talked about his godmother and his team this way! He kept his eyes out for Bludgers and once he saw one, he zoomed towards it before Athena did and beat it furiously towards the Slytherin players. He would pay them back for that!  
  
"Oh Merlin, looks like something in Achilles McGonagall has gone snapped!" Lockhart reported.  
  
Minerva looked up and exchanged glances with Dumbledore, who was sitting a few rows above her. What's wrong with their son?  
  
Athena almost let go of her bat in shock as she watched her brother flying around the pitch like a human Bludger, what had gotten into him?  
  
As if Achilles had heard Athena's thoughts, he flew and stopped beside her and said: "Some goddamn Slytherins insulted Mandy! They called her a bias bitch! I will show them, Mandy is not bias and we Gryffindors can win with our talent...."  
  
When he said that, Lockhart yelled: "Gryffindor scores again! 70 to 30! That is a good shoot, Potter!"  
  
"Go, James!" Achilles called and said to Athena. "Sis, do you know the Dopplebeater Defence?"  
  
Athena nodded and as she did, a Bludger flew towards them and Achilles simply beat it away.  
  
"Let's use it." Achilles said. "We will show the goddamn Slytherins..."  
  
Athena, who was angered by the Slytherins' comment, nodded immediately. Both of them flew around together and once they saw a Bludger flying towards a Gryffindor Chaser, they zoomed to it, raised their bats and....  
  
WHACK  
  
....hit it at the same time. The Bludger flew faster than usual and hit Andrew's arm, hard.  
  
"Ooooo, now that is going to be hurt!" Lockhart reported. "Great but dangerous pair work by the McGonagall twins! I think I better think twice before provoking them....."  
  
"Lockhart, the commentary!" Minerva yelled.  
  
"Right, right....."  
  
***  
  
A few minutes later, Frank searched around again for the Snitch after Achilles and Athena flew past him like a pair of jet planes. "Come on, come on, where is the Snitch..." He mumbled when he heard Lockhart reporting: "Looks like the McGonagall twins are going to kill every Slytherins player with their Bludger work! There goes another one with his leg broken!"  
  
Frank shuddered at Achilles and Athena's actions and concentrated on looking for the Snitch, If he couldn't find it soon, Achilles would probably kill him with his bat.  
  
And he found it, flying near the Hufflepuff stands.  
  
"YES!" He cheered and dashed towards the stands.  
  
"Looks like Longbottom have seen the Snitch, again!" Lockhart yelled.  
  
Andrew ignored his broke arm for a moment and chased after Frank with one arm around his broom. He flew beside Frank, yelling: "Anxious to catch the Snitch, Longbottom? Is McGonagall going to strangle you if you don't get it?"  
  
Frank ignored him as they flew together to chase the Snitch. Achilles and Athena, who had just succeeded for breaking a Slytherin player's jaw with their Bludger work, noticed Andrew and they shared the same thought: "We are going to chase Andrew away from the Snitch."  
  
They closed the gap between them and flew towards Andrew, with their bats raised. Andrew, who sensed danger, looked up and saw Achilles and Athena flying towards him a pair of angry eagles.  
  
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!" Andrew yelled, fearing that Achilles and Athena would broke another part of his body by beating another Bludger at him, and flew off.  
  
Achilles and Athena looked at each other and flew away from Frank and Andrew, looking for another Bludger to hit.  
  
As they did, Frank stretched his arm as long as possible and.....  
  
"LONGBOTTOM HAS FINALLY CAUGHT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!!!" Lockhart announced and the stadium exploded into cheers.  
  
Achilles and Athena stopped flying and they landed. Once they did, they hug each other as tight as they could. "We won! We won! We show the Slytherins!" They sang together.  
  
Mandy landed beside them and asked: "What has gotten into you two? You nearly beat up every Slytherin players with the Bludger!"  
  
"You don't want to know." Both of them said in unison.  
  
"Come on, Sis, let's congratulate Frank!" Achilles said and both of them started to run when.....  
  
"Achilles, Athena! I need a word with you two." Minerva ordered and both of them stopped in their tracks.  
  
***  
  
Charles Wood, a 6th year Gryffindor, finally had the bluish substance removed by Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. When he tried to remove the remains around his eyes, he heard Poppy shrieking: "WHO THE HELL HAS DONE THIS TO ALL OF YOU?!"  
  
"THE MCGONAGALL TWINS!" A group of people cried back.  
  
"The McGonagall twins?" Wood echoed in bewilderment as he tried to unglue a small amount of the substance from his eyelid.  
  
"Well, you shouldn't provoke those two in the first place...." He heard Poppy saying.  
  
"WE DIDN'T!" The group shouted.  
  
"Poppy, just bring them in." He heard Mandy saying.  
  
"All right, come in and lie down." Poppy ordered and Wood turned his head to see four or five Slytherin players came in with at least a part of their bodies injured.  
  
"What happen, Mandy?" Poppy demanded.  
  
"I don't know. Ask Achilles and Athena." Mandy said, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
Athena? Who was Athena?  
  
Then Achilles came into the hospital wing with his Gryffindor team to visit Wood. He grinned at Wood and said: "We won, Charles! We won!"  
  
Before Wood could respond, Poppy came over and said: "What did you and your sister do, Achilles?"  
  
"They deserved it." Achilles said coolly, giving a glance at the injured Slytherin players.  
  
"I am surprised that your mother didn't say anything." Poppy said.  
  
"She did, she scream at us and Dad convinced her to let us off...." Athena started.  
  
".....Just this once. We promise that we won't do anything like that again." Achilles quickly added when he saw a disapproving look on Poppy's face.  
  
"I hope not." Poppy said and walked off, mumbling: "What a dangerous sport, don't know what the hell is so attractive about Quidditch...."  
  
"Achilles, who is she?" Wood asked, pointing at Athena.  
  
"She is my sister."  
  
"Sister?"  
  
"Twin sister."  
  
"I didn't know you have a sister."  
  
"She has just transferred from another school." Achilles lied.  
  
"And guess what, she is your substitute for the match just now!" James whistled. "She is great!"  
  
"Oh. So what is it with the Slytherins being beat up?" Wood asked, looking himself in a handheld mirror.  
  
"You don't want to know." Achilles and Athena said.  
  
***  
  
The Gryffindor team (plus Wood, since he was okay now) was almost back to their common room when Athena remembered that Achilles wanted to know why didn't he play Quidditch in front of her in the future. How was she going to tell her brother that he moved out a year later and didn't come back since? She was thinking hard when the team stopped in front of the Fat Lady.  
  
"Password?"  
  
"Jean Brodie." Achilles said and the Fat Lady swung aside when James said: "I am still wondering why we have to use a name as a password....."  
  
Once the team was inside, Sirius led the Gryffindors yelling: "Good job, Gryffindor team!"  
  
Sirius shook a Butterbeer bottle and opened it. "Let's party!!!" He called and the Gryffindors cheered.  
  
***  
  
"I'm glad that you are here, Athena, you are just in time for next week." Achilles said, taking a sip from his Butterbeer.  
  
"What's going on next week?" Athena asked.  
  
"It's the month of May next week." Achilles said. "Hogwarts Sisters' rule no.5, the first Sunday of May is a "do-everything-you-want" day. You can do anything you want as long as you don't break the law. On that day, Mom, Dad and the Hogwarts Sisters will leave their work no matter how much there is, then we will go somewhere and have fun!"  
  
"Anything?" Athena asked.  
  
Achilles nodded. "Anything."  
  
"Really anything?"  
  
Achilles raised one of his eyebrows. "Do you know when is my birthday?"  
  
Athena shook her head.  
  
"Don't I celebrate it in the future? Oh well, anyway, it's March 17."  
  
"So?"  
  
Achilles looked around to see if anyone was hearing. He leaned forward and whispered in Athena's ear. "I was conceived in May, all right?"  
  
Athena took a sharp breath and she blushed furiously. 


	5. It's May! Part 1

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Some of the scenes and lines come from "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and I certainly do not own them  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 5: It's May! (Part 1)  
  
May 1st, the first Sunday of May  
  
"Bro, where's Mom?" asked Athena during breakfast.  
  
Achilles swallowed his food and looked at the High Table. Dumbledore was talking to Georgia. Poppy and Mandy were discussing excitedly on who-knows- what. Professor Kettleburn was eating his toast. Professor Flitwick was drinking his pumpkin juice... but there was no sign of their mother anywhere.  
  
"Maybe she overslept." suggested Achilles.  
  
"Hey, Achilles, want to go to practice Quidditch today?" asked James.  
  
"No thanks, I'm busy. Family business." said Achilles, smiling brightly.  
  
"W- oh yeah, today is the first Sunday of May." said James thoughtfully.  
  
"Is it May already? My, times do flies. The next thing we know, it is OWLs." said Sirius, and sighed when he heard a "tsk tsk" behind him.  
  
Achilles and Athena, who were sitting across him, raised their eyebrows. Sirius turned around and saw his cousin, the 7th year Slytherin, Narcissa Black, folding her arms and looking at him with a look of pity on her face.  
  
"Hello, Narcissa." said Sirius flatly.  
  
"Hello Sirius." replied Narcissa with the look still on her face.  
  
Sirius stared at her for a moment before he asked, "Did you come here to talk to me or what?"  
  
Narcissa unfold her arms. "Well, I want to announce something but hearing you talking about OWLs makes me feel pity for you."  
  
"Pity?" echoed Sirius. "Excuse me, but you are the one who is going to have the NEWTs. Right, Achilles?" He asked, turning to Achilles.  
  
"Yeah, the first NEWT test is next month." said Achilles, nodding.  
  
"See?" said Sirius, turning back to Narcissa. "I'm not the only Black who is going to have exams."  
  
"Yes, you are." said Narcissa haughtily, lifting her head up. "I am not going to take the stupid NEWTs."  
  
"And may I know the reason why?" asked Sirius, and started to drink his coffee.  
  
"Simple, pinhead. I am getting married."  
  
PHHHT  
  
Athena and Achilles backed away a little in disgust after Sirius spat his coffee out directly onto the table.  
  
"What?" exclaimed Sirius and got up from his seat. "But you are only 17!"  
  
"So?"  
  
"Why didn't I know anything about it?!" demanded Sirius and some of the students turned around to see what was going on.  
  
"Your mother didn't see the need to tell you, since you are busy with your..." Narcissa raised her eyebrow at the Gryffindors. "Friends." She said with a nasty note in her voice.  
  
"Don't bring my friends into this." growled Sirius. "Who are you marrying to?"  
  
"Lucius Malfoy." said Narcissa casually.  
  
Athena did some quick calculations in her head. Lucius was already 43 years old when she herself was in the 7th year with Harry. So now in 1983, Lucius would be...  
  
"But he is already 23 years old!" protested Sirius. "You are too young for him!"  
  
Achilles and Athena exchanged a glance. Both of them had no desire to tell Sirius that their mother was 8 years younger than their father.  
  
"I don't care. He is so handsome, rich and not to mention pure-blooded."  
  
Before Sirius could say anything, Narcissa sighed happily. "Aren't you happy for me, cousin?"  
  
Sirius opened and closed his mouth for a few times like a goldfish.  
  
Without waiting for Sirius's reply, Narcissa said, "Well, that's all I want to say here, so I will be sending the invitation of my wedding to you anytime soon."  
  
When Narcissa was about to return to her seat, Sirius called after her, "Well, let me tell you this, all I will be sending is my condolences to you, you must be crazy to marry Malfoy!"  
  
Narcissa stopped walking and turned to Sirius. "Sirius, I am going to tell you EXACTLY what I said to Andromeda: Grow up."  
  
Sirius drew in his breath sharply and frowned deeply.  
  
"What are you getting so excited about?" asked Narcissa, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Sirius didn't say anything.  
  
"I am marrying Lucius and that's that, got it?" snapped Narcissa and stormed back to her seat.  
  
Sirius sat down and the students went back to their breakfasts. "I don't believe it!" He said.  
  
Achilles and Athena, who didn't want to stay any longer and hear Sirius complaining, went back to the common room immediately to pack whatever they wanted for the day.  
  
***  
  
At the High Table, Dumbledore frowned at the seat beside him. Minerva had gone missing through the whole breakfast.  
  
"Madeline, where's Minerva?" He asked.  
  
Mandy stopped talking to Poppy and turned to Dumbledore. "I don't know. I hope that she is not working. It's the first Sunday of May after all."  
  
"Maybe she is in her office. I will go and look for her." said Dumbledore and got up from his chair.  
  
***  
  
Minerva was marking her students' essays in her office when Dumbledore came in. "I was right, Minerva, you are in here." He said happily.  
  
Minerva looked up and smiled. "Is there anything you need, Albus? I'm busy."  
  
Dumbledore walked to her and folded his arms. "Are you forgetting something, Minerva?"  
  
"Huh?" asked Minerva confusedly.  
  
Dumbledore smiled, took her quill out of her hand, and put it into his robes.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"It's the first Sunday of May, Minerva, we are suppose to go a-Maying." said Dumbledore, walking to the back of Minerva's chair and put his hands onto Minerva's shoulders. Dumbledore enjoyed calling whatever they had done on the first Sunday of May as "a-Maying."  
  
"I don't have time to go a-Maying." protested Minerva and rubbed her temples as if they hurt.  
  
"Hogwarts Sisters' rule no.5 'No working on the first Sunday of May.' I thought you should have known that, you and Madeline made up the rules."  
  
"But Albus, if I don't mark the essays today....." started Minerva.  
  
"Mark them at night, then. Come on, Minerva, Athena arrived just in time for this day. You don't want her to miss it, right?"  
  
Minerva sighed and stood up. She turned around to face Dumbledore and said, "Give me another reason why I should go a-Maying with the family and the other Hogwarts Sisters."  
  
Dumbledore pretended to think. "It's the only day when we could throw our troubles, work and stress aside and have fun."  
  
He put his arms around Minerva, and pulled her close to him. "There. I have given you another reason. Now will you go a-Maying with us?"  
  
Minerva thought for a while, smiled again, and put her arms around Dumbledore's waist. "I guess I have to say yes."  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "Excellent."  
  
Without another word, he kissed her. Forgetting for a moment that they were still in her office, Minerva kissed him back, passionately. They were so engrossed in their own little world that they didn't hear Peter coming in.  
  
Peter's mouth dropped open and let out a loud gasp.  
  
Hearing the gasp, Dumbledore and Minerva broke their kiss and jumped apart. Dumbledore had a look of nervousness and embarrassment while Minerva blushed furiously, stormed to Peter and asked angrily, "Mr. Pettigrew, do you know what happen to Peeping Tom?"  
  
Peter shook his head frantically.  
  
"His eyes were shrivelled into darkness and fell out right in front of him!" screeched Minerva in fury.  
  
Peter went pale, let out a squeal and fled out of the door without a word.  
  
Minerva closed the door quickly, looked at the lock, and turned around.  
  
She sighed. "Albus, remember to LOCK the door next time." 


	6. It's May! Part 2

The Hogwarts Sisters Strike Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: A scene and a few lines come from "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" so you may find them familiar, and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated PG-13 for Content  
  
Chapter 6: It's May! (Part 2)  
  
"I don't believe this." Sirius said grumpily near Minerva's office.  
  
"Oh come on, Sirius, just shut up already, you have been grumbling about Narcissa's wedding for a long time." James said in annoyance.  
  
"How could she marry him?" Sirius demanded, ignoring James. "I mean, there are...."  
  
Sirius didn't finished his sentence as Peter came running towards them and nearly knocked him over.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Oops, sorry, Sirius...." Peter said quickly and tried to run around Sirius to get back to the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"Whoa, hold it right there, Peter! What's the rush?" Sirius asked, forgetting about Narcissa's wedding for a moment as he grabbed Peter's robes to stop him from running away.  
  
"I...err..." Peter started when Minerva and Dumbledore came out of the office, saw them and came towards them.  
  
Peter gave a small squeal and hid behind Remus.  
  
"Good afternoon boys." Minerva and Dumbledore greeted.  
  
"Good afternoon, Professors." The boys greeted back.  
  
Peter peeped out at Minerva behind Remus timidly and noticed that Minerva was raising her eyebrow at him. Turning paler, Peter hid his face behind Remus again.  
  
"Now what are you boys planning to do for the whole day?" Dumbledore asked kindly.  
  
"We are not sure yet. I wanted to play Quidditch but Achilles and Athena are not available." James said and gave a sideward glance at Peter, wondering what the hell he was doing, hiding behind Remus.  
  
"Well, whatever you are doing, I hope that you are enjoying yourself." Dumbledore said.  
  
"We will." The boys said.  
  
"Well, Professor McGonagall and I must be off. See you later." Dumbledore said and they left.  
  
"Bye Professors." The boys except Peter greeted.  
  
When they left, Sirius said: "Peter, you can come out now."  
  
Peter came out of his hiding place and James stared at him. "Okay, Peter, what the hell is going on?"  
  
"Err..." Peter started.  
  
"Oh come on, tell us." Remus said.  
  
"I.can't." Peter stammered.  
  
"Tell us." Sirius demanded.  
  
"I won't tell you, I respect Professor McGonagall." Peter said. He had stopped stammering but there's a nervous note in his voice when all the boys were staring at him.  
  
"Is this has something to do with McGonagall?" James asked.  
  
"I won't tell you." Peter said again.  
  
"Tell. Or we will hang you upside down over the railing of the top of the staircase." Sirius threatened.  
  
"I won't..." Peter started. "It's none of your...(Sirius and James looked at each other, both of them grabbed him, and dragged him towards the nearest staircase, which led to the Gryffindor common room)....BUSINNNNEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!" He ended with a shriek.  
  
Remus followed them wordlessly and watched as Sirius held Peter's legs as he hung him over the railing at the top of the staircase. Remus folded his arms and still didn't say anything.  
  
"Oh come on, tell us! Did you see something that you weren't supposed to?" James asked as he looked at Peter over the railing.  
  
"Peter, just tell them already!" Remus said finally.  
  
"It was an accident!" Peter said in fright, his voice was higher than usual. He swallowed at the distance from the floor to where he was hanging, if Sirius dropped him...."I didn't mean to!"  
  
"What did you see?" Sirius asked excitedly.  
  
"I was just going to Professor McGonagall's office to get my textbook, I left it there. I opened her door without knocking and..." Peter started, not answering Sirius's question.  
  
"And what?" Remus asked curiously.  
  
"...there they went!!!!" Peter cried.  
  
"Who went?" James asked from upstairs.  
  
"Oh, McGonagall and her husband, right?" Sirius asked.  
  
"No, it was Professor Dumbledore!" Peter said as his face went redder and redder from hanging upside down. "They were kissing!"  
  
"Kissing?!" James and Sirius exclaimed.  
  
Remus's mouth dropped open. James and Sirius looked at each other again before they finally pulled Peter up.  
  
"I saw Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, kissing....together." Peter said once he had gotten over his fright.  
  
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked.  
  
"Damn right I am sure." Peter said quickly, nodding his head.  
  
"But Professor McGonagall is married." Remus said, frowning.  
  
"Maybe she is having a love affair with Dumbledore." Peter muttered, and Sirius and James stared at him. "I'm just kidding!" He said frantically.  
  
"That may be possible." James said thoughtfully.  
  
"That's ridiculous. McGonagall is not that kind of woman." Remus said quietly and Sirius heard him.  
  
"Yeah, Remus is right, McGonagall is not that kind of woman....." Sirius looked at Peter. "Pete, was it a long lingering kiss?"  
  
"I sh-shouldn't have told you." Peter said.  
  
"Well, since you did, was it a long lingering kiss?" Sirius asked, ignoring Peter's words.  
  
"Um...." Peter started, trying to remember.  
  
"Was it like this?" Sirius asked and beckoned James to come forward.  
  
"Keep it clean, all right, I want to save my first kiss for Evans." James muttered.  
  
"Don't be an idiot, of course I won't kiss you." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.  
  
They walked to the middle of the staircase, with Sirius's back facing the boys and the direction to the common room. James closed his eyes, wrapped his arms around Sirius's body and moved them so that from behind, they looked like they were kissing. As he did, Sirius rested his head onto James's shoulder and looked as if he was infatuated with James. Peter was the first one to laugh, then Remus. Sirius wrapped his arms around James and closed his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, that's it!" Peter cried as he laughed.  
  
"Oh my!" Remus exclaimed when he saw someone at the corner of his eyes.  
  
He stopped laughing immediately and slapped Peter's back to get his attention. Peter turned around, went pale again and fell silent.  
  
"Hey, why did you stop laughing?" Sirius and James asked, still not facing them.  
  
Nobody responded.  
  
James opened his eyes, gasped in fear and pushed Sirius away immediately. Sirius turned around. He took his second sharp breath of the day and swallowed nervously at whom he saw.  
  
Achilles and Athena.  
  
***  
  
Achilles glared at Sirius with a very disapproving look on his face. He narrowed his green eyes and asked slowly: "What the hell do you think you are doing?"  
  
"Err..." The boys started and went quiet.  
  
Athena looked amused while Achilles's nostrils flared. "I want an explanation. Now." He said coldly.  
  
"Acting?" Sirius suggested timidly and wished that he hadn't because he noticed that Achilles's face darkened.  
  
"Yeah, right." Achilles said, rolling his eyes.  
  
Peter seemed to miss the sarcasm. "Their acting are pretty good, don't you think so, Achilles?"  
  
"Peter, don't..." Remus whispered frantically when Achilles shouted: "I'm disgusted! Two MALE students kissing and hugging each other in broad daylight, outside the Gryffindor common room! I have never heard of such thing before! To make the matter worse, one of them is the Gryffindor team's star Chaser!"  
  
The boys looked down at their feet and said nothing.  
  
Achilles turned sharply to Remus. "You, Lupin (Remus winched at his address, Achilles had never used his surname unless he was very mad with him), I thought that you have more sense. You are a Prefect and it is your job to stop this kind of behaviour from taking place! What if the younger students have seen this? Especially the Slytherins! If they see this, the whole school will know about it in just half a day and they will be laughing at us!"  
  
Lupin licked his dry lips and muttered something like the word "Sorry".  
  
"One more time I catches you doing this, it will be a month of detention! Understand?!" Achilles asked loudly.  
  
"Yes." The boys said quietly.  
  
"Now go back to the common room! And I will ask Mom to take away 30 points from Gryffindor for such disgusting behaviour....." Achilles started.  
  
"30?" Peter asked hopefully, despite that Achilles had shouted at them.  
  
"Each." Achilles snapped, breathing heavily through his nose. "That makes 120 points."  
  
The boys went pale. James's mouth went open for a while before he recovered from his shock.  
  
"Achilles, please..." He started.  
  
"You can't...." Sirius protested weakly.  
  
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Black!" Achilles ordered. "Now get back to the common room, all of you. I have never been more ashamed of my fellow schoolmates."  
  
The boys looked at each other and they went towards the common room. When they were further away, Athena could hear Remus saying: "Maybe we really shouldn't do that...."  
  
Then Sirius said: "Great, great, 120 points gone!"  
  
"The Gryffindors are going to hate us when they see the hourglass." James moaned.  
  
"But if we don't tell, how will they know?" Peter asked.  
  
"Use your brains, Pete, they will definitely ask Achilles or Professor McGonagall." She heard Sirius snapped.  
  
Finally she heard they yelling the password: "Diana Barrie!" and a "You don't have to shout!" from the Fat Lady.  
  
"What a disgrace." Achilles said in disgust.  
  
"Come on, Bro, let's go. I don't want to miss the "a-Maying" !" Athena said, grabbing her brother's hand and walked down the stairs.  
  
***  
  
"Boy, you two sure take a long time!" Mandy complained outside the Hogwarts school gates, where two carriages were situated.  
  
Athena and Achilles stopped right in front of Mandy, panting. "Sorry, but...." Athena started.  
  
"Save your explanation later. Now, you two are here, good....Poppy, check, Georgia, check, Minerva, here...and.hey, where's Albus?" Mandy asked and frowned.  
  
"He was called away at the last minute by the Ministry." Minerva said and sighed.  
  
"So he can't come?" Athena asked desperately.  
  
"Oh yes he can," Minerva said determinedly. "He said that he would try to get away as fast as possible. But we could go one without him first."  
  
"Well, that will have to do." Mandy said and went to open a carriage door. "Hop in." She said to Achilles and Athena.  
  
"Where will we be going?" Athena asked after Achilles got in.  
  
"The usual. The Dumbledores' summer house." Mandy said and smiled. "You will love it." 


	7. AMaying

The Hogwarts Sisters Strike Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: The song that the Hogwarts Sisters sang comes from "Camelot" and I certainly don't own it.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated PG-13 for Content  
  
Chapter 7: A-Maying  
  
"Here we are!" Mandy announced happily as she hopped off the carriage three hours later.  
  
"Finally! The only thing I hate about this place is that we have to take three hours to get here." Georgia complained as she got off.  
  
Achilles got off and looked around at the place. "I have not seen this place for three years and it didn't change at all!" He said delightfully.  
  
Athena stared at the building in front of her when she stepped off the carriage. "House? You called this a house?" She asked Mandy as Poppy tossed a picnic basket to Mandy.  
  
"Okay, it is a bit bigger than an ordinary house....."  
  
Athena stared at Mandy. The Dumbledores' summer house was actually a three- storey white building which was so big that Athena had to turn her head in two directions to see the whole house. "It is more than a house!"  
  
"All right, it is a mansion, who cares? I am not very good at describing things.... anyway, Minerva, go and open the door, you are one of the owners after all."  
  
"Right." Minerva said, walked up the white steps that led to the pouch, to the brown, well-polished double wooden doors and opened one of them easily.  
  
Once she did, Athena could hear someone screaming in a high pitched voice: "Madam is back! Finally! Dilly has been waiting for you, Master, young Master and the Hogwarts Sisters for a long time!"  
  
"Hey there, Dilly!" Mandy called as she rushed to the door with the basket in her hands.  
  
Poppy and Georgia followed quickly.  
  
"Come on, I want you to meet Dilly, the house elf." Achilles said, taking Athena's hand and bringing her into the mansion. "Hi, Dilly." He greeted.  
  
Dilly, who was wearing a small white blouse and skirt, squealed in excitement. "Is this Young Master Achilles? You have grown up after three years!"  
  
Achilles grinned. "Yep. Oh yeah, Dilly, I want you to meet Athena, my sister."  
  
Dilly's eyes widened. "Sister? But Dilly doesn't know that there is a girl in the family!"  
  
"Well, there is now." Achilles said.  
  
Dilly looked at Minerva and Minerva nodded. Dilly squealed again and took Athena's hand. "Dilly is very delighted to see you, Young Miss! Where is you after all these years?"  
  
"Long story." Athena said shortly.  
  
"Dilly, do you mind to go and carry the stuff that we have brought?" Minerva asked, indicating the carriages outside.  
  
"Dilly doesn't mind to carry out Madam's orders! Dilly is a good house elf and is happy to do so! But..." Dilly looked around. "Where is Master?"  
  
"He is busy but he will be here soon." Minerva said.  
  
"Oh. Well, Dilly must not stay here, Dilly must carry out Madam's orders now!" Dilly said and scampered to the door while Mandy cried: "See ya, Dilly!"  
  
"This place is cool." Athena said, looking around at the entrance hall. Like the exterior, the interior was white and at the four corners of the hall, a statue of a goddess was situated. On the walls, paintings by famous Muggle painters were put up. A crystal chandelier was hanging from the ceiling.  
  
"Yeah, good for parties." Mandy said and grinned. "Well, the Hogwarts Sisters, including your mother, will be at the swimming pool. Want to join us?"  
  
"Later, I want to see Thunder first." Achilles said and beamed.  
  
"Thunder? Who is Thunder?" Athena asked.  
  
"You will see." Achilles said excitedly.  
  
"Oh yeah! Before I forget...." Mandy said and turned to Minerva. "Sing."  
  
"No way." Minerva said.  
  
"I led the singing last year, now it is your turn. Hogwarts Sisters' rule number 8: 'A Hogwarts Sister must lead the singing of the song of May in the do-everything-you-want day.' You and I set it, remember?"  
  
"I...forgot the lyrics." Minerva lied.  
  
"You are lying." Poppy said.  
  
Minerva pouted and Achilles and Athena stifled their giggles at their mother's look.  
  
"Sing or we will throw you into the swimming pool." Mandy threatened and grinned again.  
  
"Fine, I will sing!" Minerva said, throwing up her hands.  
  
"Good!" Mandy said, putting her arm over Minerva's shoulders. "That's the spirit, Queen Cold-As-Ice!"  
  
Minerva cleared her throat.  
  
"This is great, I have not seen Mom's leading the singing for three years." Achilles mumbled beside Athena.  
  
Minerva started to sing:  
  
It's May  
  
It's May  
  
The lusty month of May  
  
That lovely month when everyone goes  
  
Blissfully astray  
  
It's here  
  
It's here  
  
That shocking time of year  
  
When tons of wicked little thoughts  
  
Merrily appear  
  
It's May!  
  
(It's May)  
  
That gorgeous holiday  
  
When every maiden itches for fun  
  
Wholesome or "un"  
  
It's mad!  
  
(It's May)  
  
Depraved in every way  
  
Those dreary vows that everyone takes  
  
Everyone breaks  
  
Everyone makes divine mistakes  
  
The lusty month of May  
  
It's May  
  
(It's May)  
  
The lusty month of May  
  
That darling month when everyone throws  
  
Self-control away  
  
It's time to do  
  
A wretched thing or two  
  
And try to make each precious day  
  
One you always rue  
  
It's May  
  
(It's May)  
  
The month of "Yes, you may"  
  
A time for every  
  
Frivolous whim  
  
Proper or "im"  
  
It's wild!  
  
(It's wild! It's gay!)  
  
A libellous display  
  
The birds and bees  
  
Will all of their vast  
  
Amorous past  
  
Gaze at the human race  
  
Aghast  
  
The lusty  
  
Month  
  
Of May!  
  
"Come on, Sis, let's dance!" Achilles cried and grabbed Athena's hands.  
  
Athena smiled and danced along with her brother as the Hogwarts Sisters (excluding Minerva) started to sing loudly:  
  
It's May  
  
It's May  
  
The lusty month of May  
  
That lovely month when everyone goes  
  
Blissfully astray  
  
It's here  
  
It's here  
  
That shocking time of year  
  
When tons of wicked little thoughts  
  
Merrily appear  
  
It's May!  
  
(It's May)  
  
That gorgeous holiday  
  
When every maiden itches for fun  
  
Wholesome or "un"  
  
It's May  
  
It's May  
  
The lusty month of May  
  
That darling month when everyone throws  
  
Self-control away  
  
It's time to do  
  
A wretched thing or two  
  
And try to make each precious day  
  
One you always rue  
  
It's May  
  
It's May  
  
The month of "Yes, you may"  
  
A time for every  
  
Frivolous whim  
  
Proper or "im"  
  
It's wild! It's gay!  
  
A libelous display  
  
The birds and bees  
  
Will all of their vast  
  
Amorous past  
  
Gaze at the human race  
  
Aghast  
  
The lusty  
  
Month  
  
Of May!  
  
It's May..  
  
It's May!  
  
It's May!  
  
It's May!!!  
  
Achilles and Athena stopped dancing when the Hogwarts Sisters finished and applauded.  
  
"Bravo, still as good as ever!" Achilles praised.  
  
"Thank you, thank you..." Mandy said, bowing as low as she could go.  
  
"Now can we go to the pool?" Minerva asked impatiently.  
  
"Sure....see you later, you two!" Mandy said.  
  
***  
  
Achilles took Athena out of the house and they stopped in front of a stable.  
  
"Oh, so Thunder is a horse?" Athena asked.  
  
Achilles shook his head. "Nope." He went to the stable, opened the door and looked into the stable. "No, he is not in here. Bet that Dilly let him out so that he could stretch his legs by running around ...."  
  
"Is it a Thestral?"  
  
"No, and I don't want to see one." Achilles said and shivered. "Scary creature, it is. No, my Thunder is better..."  
  
"Don't tell me that it is a Hippogriff." Athena said in fear.  
  
"No. Let me tell you this, I bet you my broomstick that I am the only male in this world who has one as a pet. Hagrid gave him to me when I was five as a birthday gift and Thunder was just a foal at that time... maybe I will whistle and he will hear it....."  
  
Achilles took a whistle with a shape like a shooting star from his pocket.  
  
"Cool, isn't it? Mandy gave it to when I was six." He said when he saw Athena staring at it in awe.  
  
Achilles brought the whistle to his lips and blew. Instead of sounding like a whistle, the whistle sounded like loud pigeons.  
  
A few seconds later, Athena heard quick, loud hooves coming towards them. She turned around and gaped at the creature in front of her.  
  
A pure white unicorn.  
  
"Oh my goodness! You actually have a unicorn as a pet?!" Athena exclaimed as Achilles patted his unicorn, stroked its mane and fingered its horn.  
  
"Yep, he is used to me because he knows me since we were little. So I am the only male who can ride him, right?" He asked Thunder.  
  
Thunder responded by lowering himself to the ground, clearly wanted Achilles to climb on.  
  
"All right! Come on, sis, let's climb on him." Achilles said and before Athena could answer, he pushed her to Thunder.  
  
"Let my sister ride on you too, okay?" Achilles asked Thunder and he didn't respond.  
  
"That's means ok. Go on, climb on him." Achilles said and Athena nervously climbed on.  
  
Achilles mounted on behind Athena and Thunder stood up. "Ready, sis?"  
  
Athena nodded.  
  
"Okay, Thunder, go around the house!" Achilles ordered and Thunder raced forward.  
  
As Thunder galloped like the wind, Athena could see nothing but blur while Achilles yelled: "Yahoo!!!"  
  
Clearly, Achilles enjoyed the ride more than Athena did. Athena could do nothing except wounding her hands into Thunder's mane tightly and all the while hoping that she wouldn't slip off.  
  
And before Athena knew it, Thunder slowed down to a halt right back where they had started. Thunder lowered himself again and Achilles dismounted. As he helped Athena down, he said: "Nice, isn't it?"  
  
Athena gave a weak smile.  
  
"Thunder is an excellent unicorn. Too bad I can't bring it to the Auror Headquarters if I become one." Achilles said sadly as he ruffled Thunder's mane.  
  
"You want to be an Auror?" Athena asked and stopped herself from saying: "And Mom didn't quarrel with you for that?"  
  
"Yeah, I have thought about it for a long time. No other jobs interest me except being an Auror. I told Mom during the Careers Advice in my fifth year but I don't think she took me seriously, I wondered why. Hey, did I become an Auror in the future?"  
  
"Err....." Athena started.  
  
"I am sure that I can, in my OWLs, I got an 'Outstanding' in Transfiguration, Charms, Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts, okay, so I just got a 'Exceeds Expectations' in Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes. Unlike Dad, I am not very good at Astronomy, so I just got "Acceptable" and a 'Dreadful' in the History of Magic, but it is not my fault that Professor Binns is such a boring teacher... I think I need to ask Hagrid or Georgia for extra lessons, or my dream will go down the drain.."  
  
Athena just stared at her brother, wondering whether Achilles really became an Auror when he left a year later. 


	8. Poppy's Breakdown and a Picnic

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Some of the scenes and lines come from "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and I certainly do not own them  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 8: Poppy's breakdown and a picnic  
  
"Bet I can still do my famous dive!" Athena heard Mandy shouted when she and Achilles came to the swimming pool after they had let Thunder to rest in his stable.  
  
"What dive?" asked Athena and she raised one of her eyebrows as she examined Mandy, who was wearing a swimsuit and standing on a diving board, which was as high as the main house's roof, from head to toe.  
  
"Ah, Athena, Achilles! You two are just in time for my famous dive!" shouted Mandy from the board.  
  
"All right! GO MANDY!!" yelled Achilles back while Athena looked interested.  
  
"Don't do it, Countess, the last time you did that, that........" Poppy paused, trying to find a word to describe Mandy's dive.  
  
"Dangerous? Killer? Murderous?" suggested Mandy, grinning.  
  
"Idiotic!" said Poppy suddenly.  
  
"Whatever." said Mandy, waving her hand.  
  
Minerva rolled her eyes and shook her head while Poppy cried, "You won't!"  
  
Mandy turned around, back facing the pool and folded her arms.  
  
"She would." said Georgia and put her glass of pumpkin juice down.  
  
Mandy closed her eyes and silently counted. "One, two, three!"  
  
She jumped off the board, did two somersaults in the air and as quick as lightning, unfolded her arms, closed her hands together and dived into the pool with a loud SPLASH.  
  
Achilles and Athena clapped while Georgia said, "Not bad."  
  
Poppy looked relaxed after she saw Mandy resurfaced. "Mandy, for the thousandth time, I beg you, don't do this kind of stunt again!" She shrieked.  
  
Mandy wiped her wet face with her hand and looked at Poppy. "And for the thousandth time, I assure you that I won't die of this kind of thing." She gave Poppy a grin.  
  
Poppy turned pale. "No, don't say that........" She started.  
  
Athena looked at Achilles and her brother was as confused as she was.  
  
"Oh no." whispered Minerva and Mandy's grin faded.  
  
"I don't want to hear it........." said Poppy and sat down on a beach chair.  
  
"Poppy, please don't........." began Georgia and Mandy got herself out of the pool.  
  
Poppy shook her head, her eyes filled with a mixture with fear and sadness. "I don't want to hear it! I don't want to hear it!" She screamed hysterically, covering her ears with her fists. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her forehead against them. "I don't want to hear it........"  
  
"Poppy, Poppy Darling, I am so sorry, I should not say that, I am an idiot to even add a grin to THAT sentence." said Mandy as she watched her friend sobbing, against her knees.  
  
"He promised me that he would come back." said Poppy quietly.  
  
"Empress, please! Get a hold of yourself! It's all right, I am here!" said Minerva gently.  
  
Poppy lifted her head up and looked into Minerva's green eyes. She sniffed loudly as Minerva put her arms around her and hugged her. "It's all right." repeated Minerva and patted Poppy's head as she spoke.  
  
Poppy cried against Minerva and Mandy said, "Sorry Poppy, I promise you that I won't do this stupid stunt again."  
  
Now Athena knew why Mandy didn't do this dive whenever they were at the pool in the future.  
  
"What is going on?" whispered Achilles to Georgia.  
  
"We lost a great friend of ours 30 years ago and............." started Georgia when Minerva said sharply, "Hold your tongue, Duchess!"  
  
Georgia shut up.  
  
"What, what about this friend......." began Achilles and went silent when he saw his mother glaring at him.  
  
"Poppy, are you okay now?" asked Minerva and released her Hogwarts Sister.  
  
Poppy had quieted down, but she was still weeping. Silently, she shook her head. "May I take my leave? I need a rest." She mumbled.  
  
"Go ahead, that is why we have this do-everything-you-want day." said Minerva.  
  
"All of you just go ahead and do your stuff, don't worry about me, I'm fine." said Poppy weakly. She stood up, looking as pale as ghost and just walked past her friends and the Dumbledore children. Achilles and Athena continued to watch as Poppy climbed tiredly up the stairs that led to the second floor and out of sight.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Picnic, anyone?" suggested Georgia timidly.  
  
"Hm, sure." replied Minerva. "Achilles, why don't you and Athena go and grab the picnic basket from the kitchen and get some apples from the garden?"  
  
"Err, okay." said Achilles and took Athena's hand. "Come on, Sis." He said and the both of them left quickly.  
  
***  
  
When they had left, the Hogwarts Sisters were silent. Minerva gave Mandy a stare.  
  
"I'm sorry, I just said that without even thinking." said Mandy, with her head low.  
  
"It's not your fault." said Minerva, sighed loudly and fell back against her chair.  
  
***  
  
"That one, over here."  
  
"Where?"  
  
"There, near that thick branch."  
  
"Athena, there's a lot of thick branches here, which one are you talking about?"  
  
"The one nearest to your right."  
  
"Oh! That one!" said Achilles and leaning forward as far as possible to get the apple.  
  
"Careful!" called Athena from below, the basket hanging on her arm.  
  
"Got it!" said Achilles, showing Athena the big juicy apple and handed it to her.  
  
"You know Minerva? I think Athena and Achilles are looking more and more like you and Albus." said Mandy as the Hogwarts Sisters (minus Poppy) sat on a big blanket together. Georgia started to put snacks and drinks on it.  
  
Minerva just smiled and called, "Children, that's enough apples for the day! Come here for your sandwiches!"  
  
"All right, sandwiches!" said Achilles and climbed down the tree. He and Athena jogged to their mother and sat down while Mandy and Georgia stood up.  
  
"Well, we better go and let you three to enjoy." said Georgia.  
  
"Duchess, I thought you want a picnic." said Minerva, surprised.  
  
"Change my mind." said Georgia shortly. "See you."  
  
After they had left, Minerva handed Achilles an egg and ham sandwich. "Here you go, Achilles, it is your favourite, right?"  
  
"Mom, you know me the best." Achilles grinned and took his food. "The Muggles are so good at inventing food."  
  
"Athena, I remember that you like black pepper bacon with egg sandwich so here it is........." She gave Athena hers.  
  
Athena took it and gave Minerva a mischievous grin. "Thanks, Minerva."  
  
"Don't you call me that." said Minerva, frowning. "This is 1983, not 1950. One more time I hear you talking like that......."  
  
"Or you will report my ass?" asked Athena, remembering what Minerva said about Mandy's smoking 33 years ago in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"Oh great." Minerva muttered.  
  
"Oh, that reminds me, Mom, I saw Sirius and James hugging each other outside the common room today." said Achilles after he had swallowed his food.  
  
"So?" asked Minerva and took a bite on her apple.  
  
"And kissing. Intimately."  
  
Minerva nearly choked her piece of apple. "WHAT?!"  
  
"And Remus and Peter were there, laughing like hell." added Athena. "If they didn't see us, I swear that they will go further."  
  
"Outside the common room?!" shrieked Minerva. "In broad daylight?"  
  
Achilles and Athena looked at each other and nodded.  
  
"Did any Slytherin see them?"  
  
Both of them shook their heads. "At least I think so." said Achilles.  
  
"Didn't Lupin stop them? He is a prefect!"  
  
"I told you, he and Peter just stood there, laughing." said Athena.  
  
"I told them I will ask you to take away 30 points from Gryffindor for such disgusting behaviour........" started Achilles and Minerva looked at him in horror.  
  
"30?!" She demanded.  
  
"Each." said Achilles quickly. "That makes 120 points."  
  
"That is not enough." said Minerva and Achilles and Athena raised their eyebrows. "I have to take 20 more points from Lupin and Pettigrew each for not stopping Black and Potter."  
  
"Doesn't that make........." started Athena.  
  
"That's right, 160 points." said Minerva and took another bite from her apple.  
  
"So much of winning the House Cup this year." said Athena to her brother.  
  
"That is the only way for them to learn." said Minerva firmly. She just swallowed her piece when she saw Dumbledore walking towards them. "Ah, here comes your father!"  
  
"Hi Dad!" shouted Achilles and Athena and waved.  
  
"Have a biscuit, Albus." said Minerva as Dumbledore sat down beside Athena, she leaned forward and neatly put a small biscuit into her husband's mouth.  
  
Dumbledore grinned. "I feel like Mr. Lowther in the Muggle movie "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie"."  
  
"That is different, Mr. Lowther and Miss Brodie aren't married, but we are." said Minerva.  
  
"Athena, that's mine!" cried Achilles as Athena reached out and took a chocolate doughnut.  
  
"I saw it first!" said Athena and struck out her tongue at her brother.  
  
"And," continued Minerva, put her arms around her two children and pulled them close, "these are our children, not just students. They are our crème de la crème."  
  
"Right." said Dumbledore, smiling.  
  
***  
  
Poppy was watching the whole scene from her room. She blinked away her tears and reached quickly for a box of tissue. She took one and wiped her tears, wishing that she could be just like Minerva, a strong woman with a wonderful family and a loving husband.  
  
But she knew that the wish would never come true. 


	9. What About 1953?

The Hogwarts Sisters Strike Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Dedicated to Freelancer, Sue, and all those who comfort me in the AD/MM group.  
  
Rated PG-13 for Content  
  
Chapter 9: What About 1953?  
  
At dinnertime, as the Dumbledores, Mandy and Georgia sat down, Dilly and other house elves put their food on the table, which looked as good as the food at Hogwarts. But Athena was more concerned about the empty seat between Mandy and Georgia than the food itself.  
  
"Mandy? Where's Poppy?" She asked.  
  
"Probably in her room." Georgia said.  
  
"Didn't you or Mandy see her for the whole day?" She asked again.  
  
Mandy and Georgia looked at each other before they shook their heads. "No."  
  
"No matter how upset she is, she still needs to eat." Minerva said quietly.  
  
"I will get her," Mandy said, getting up from her seat. "And I need to apologize to her..."  
  
"Apologize? What happened?" Dumbledore asked curiously.  
  
"Albus, it's the W business." Minerva explained.  
  
"Oh, that." Dumbledore said, his expression saddened.  
  
"What?" Achilles asked.  
  
"None of your business, Achilles." His mother said firmly. "This is a matter for the Hogwarts Sisters."  
  
"Then why Dad know about it?" Her son asked again.  
  
Minerva paused for a while and said: "Just eat your food."  
  
"But I have to ask clearly, you know, an Auror always...." Achilles began.  
  
"Achilles." Minerva growled. "I don't want to hear anything about the Aurors from now on."  
  
"Ok, ok, I will drop the subject..." Achilles said, looked slightly shocked at his mother's behaviour.  
  
"Uh oh." Athena thought and she quickly said: "Pass the salt, Achilles."  
  
Her brother passed her the salt slowly, still staring at his mother as if he was in a trance.  
  
"Minerva, Georgia, why don't you two start your dinner first?" Dumbledore suggested.  
  
"Why don't you?" Georgia asked back, looking at the Headmaster's empty plate.  
  
Minerva sighed. "Not until Poppy comes down. Achilles." She said sharply.  
  
Achilles snapped out of his "trance" and asked: "What?"  
  
"If Poppy comes down, I don't want you to say anything about the Aurors to her, not even the word itself, do you understand?" His mother commanded.  
  
Achilles nodded slowly.  
  
"Well, continue eating." Minerva said and Achilles returned to his meal.  
  
Athena chewed her lettuce slowly, thinking the reason why Achilles left home probably started from here.  
  
***  
  
Mandy came up to Poppy's room at the second floor, stared at her door, took a deep breath and knocked softly.  
  
No response.  
  
Mandy pressed her ear to the door and listened carefully. All she heard was the school nurse's sobs. She bites her lip, feeling like kicking herself for making her friend so upset. She knocked again, louder this time.  
  
"W-who is it?" Poppy asked weakly.  
  
"It's me." Mandy said loudly but timidly.  
  
She heard nothing for a while then a rustle of sheets as if Poppy had gotten out of bed. Sounds of footsteps came to the door and Poppy opened it. She looked terribly down and her face had wet stains on it.  
  
"What?" She asked.  
  
"It's dinnertime and we are wondering whether you could come down and eat with us." Mandy said.  
  
"I'm not hungry." Poppy said quietly.  
  
"Please, if you don't, all of us won't have the mood to eat." Mandy pleaded and paused for a while. "Well, maybe not the children, Minerva may forced them to, you know how she dotes Achilles and since Athena is her daughter from the future..."  
  
"Even if I don't, you all have to eat. It's bad for your health if you skip dinner." Poppy interrupted with more energy.  
  
"But we don't have the MOOD to. Come on, Empress, if you don't want us to risk our health, come down for dinner." Mandy said.  
  
Poppy was silent for a while before she said: "All right."  
  
Mandy smiled but her smile faded quickly. Then she hugs the Empress. "Poppy, I am really, really sorry for this afternoon. I am an idiot to say that."  
  
"It's not your fault." Poppy said softly and hugs her back.  
  
As she embraced her, the Countess noticed a big photo album on the bed. With her sharp eyes, she could see that the album was lay opened at the page where HIS photo was.  
  
"You still have not forgotten him. Even though he has been gone for 30 years." She said finally.  
  
"I can't and I don't want to. And I'm not upset anymore." Poppy said and tried to smile when she released her.  
  
Mandy didn't look convinced.  
  
"Really! Come on, let's go down for dinner." Poppy said and walked down the stairs, wiping her face as she went.  
  
"You are lying." Mandy thought. "You just don't want us to cry over you like what we did 30 years ago."  
  
***  
  
"Poppy! Are you all right?" Minerva asked anxiously when Poppy came down to the dinning room.  
  
"I'm all right." Poppy said and sat down. "Hmm, the food looks good." She said as she surveyed the food.  
  
When Mandy sat down, she mouthed to Minerva: "I don't believe her."  
  
Minerva just nodded back slightly in response.  
  
***  
  
After dinner, Poppy stood up immediately and said that she wanted to go back to her room to "read up on medical potions". When she left, Mandy said to Georgia flatly: "Medical potions, yeah right, I don't believe her a bit."  
  
"All right, what are we going to do tonight?" Dumbledore asked, trying to lift everyone's spirits.  
  
"Play Bridge." The three Hogwarts Sisters said.  
  
"That's the only thing that doesn't remind us of HIM." Minerva said. "He had no interest in bridge."  
  
"I want to play the piano." Achilles said as he stood up.  
  
Athena followed suit when Minerva said: "Not tonight, Achilles."  
  
"Why?" Her son asked.  
  
"It's not suitable."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Children shouldn't ask so many questions." Minerva snapped.  
  
Achilles's mouth dropped open for a while before he closed it. "Fine." He managed to snap, and he got Athena's hand. "Come on, Sis, let's leave these adults alone." He said, stressing on the word "adults" and practically dragged Athena's out of the dinning room.  
  
***  
  
"Children shouldn't ask so many questions." Achilles said when he and Athena arrived to their bedroom, making his voice slightly higher to imitate his mother.  
  
Athena didn't find that amusing.  
  
"I am not a kid; I can even do spells and apparation outside Hogwarts now." He said in his normal voice and flopped down on his bed. "Hm, I wonder who this guy is. Georgia said that he was "lost" 30 years ago..Hey, sis, are you around at that time?"  
  
"No, I had gone back to my time in 1950." Athena said as she lay down on her bed.  
  
"Oh. By the way, what were Mom and Dad like in 1950? In fact, tell me about everything in 1950." Achilles said in interest.  
  
"Didn't Mom and Dad tell you anything about their past?" Athena asked in shock.  
  
"Mom never tells. And Dad won't tell unless you ask." Achilles said.  
  
"Well, there's plenty," Athena said, beginning to sit up. "Mom hated Dad and Dad always teased her about anything. They never got along. So when I gone back to 1950 and told Mom that I am her and Dad's daughter, she doesn't believe me and said that she and Dad are as compatible as a Jarvey and a Gnome."  
  
"But she managed to accept it and she took me for lessons. And guess what during the Care For Magical Creatures lesson? We were feeding Dugbogs when Malfoy sneaked from behind took away Jonathan Wood's earmuffs..."  
  
***  
  
Athena told her time travel story to Achilles until and her brother asked her about the people in 1950.  
  
"Let's see... Mandy smoked...." Athena started.  
  
"What?" Achilles asked and paused for a while. "Well, that's not very surprising. I always thought that she would."  
  
"Jonathan Wood is an expert in Divination.."  
  
"Is he a Seer?"  
  
"Don't think so." Athena said, thinking about how Mandy and Jonathan broke up. If Jonathan was a Seer, he should have known that his parents would lock him up to prevent him from seeing Mandy.  
  
"William Potter and Don Weasley were pals, they often ganged up together to play tricks on teachers...."  
  
"Wait a minute, what do you mean by "were" ?" Her brother interrupted.  
  
"William Potter died before 1986." Athena said quietly.  
  
"Oh. For how long before 1986?"  
  
Athena shrugged. "I don't know."  
  
She continued her story until 11am and after that they washed up and went to bed.  
  
When Achilles was asleep, Athena did a quick calculation. 30 years ago meant that the Hogwarts Sisters were only 20 years olds at that time.  
  
During that time, Minerva was already married to Dumbledore for a year.  
  
Mandy and Jonathan Wood was still a couple at that time.  
  
Nothing happened to William Potter, Don Weasley, Robert Lupin, Joe Black and Nicholas Longbottom at that time (at least Athena thought so).  
  
Athena knew that whatever happened to Aidoneus Malfoy or Sam Snape would never affect Poppy.  
  
So what happened during that year?  
  
She had absolutely no idea. 


	10. NEWTs

The Hogwarts Sisters Strikes Back  
  
Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Note 2: Spoilers from Chapter 28: Snape's Worst Memory, "Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix"  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Freelancer: Yes, you are going to find out what exactly happened in 1953, but not now.  
  
Translation for Achilles's spells: Venas-Cut one's veins, Tardesco-To slow down  
  
Rated PG-13 for Content  
  
Chapter 10: NEWTs  
  
The next morning, Achilles didn't speak to his mother or anybody except Athena. He continued to do so on their way back to Hogwarts. He didn't say a word until lunch break, when he and Athena came to the Great Hall, James and Sirius ran up to them with Remus and Peter behind.  
  
"Achilles, do you know..." James started.  
  
"What?" Achilles snapped irritably.  
  
James ignored his tone. "I thought you said you were going to ask your mother to take away 120 points from Gryffindor.."  
  
"Yeah, so?" Achilles asked, as if he was challenging James to continue.  
  
"Then why did we lose 160 points?" Sirius demanded.  
  
"Because Mom wants to take 20 points away from Remus and Peter for not stopping Potter and Black."  
  
"Oh no! Can't you at least lie a bit?" James asked in annoyance. "We are your friends! Don't you want our house to win the house cup?"  
  
"I can't take sides. An Auror never take sides." Achilles said as he sat down.  
  
"But you are NOT an Auror." Sirius protested.  
  
"But I want to!" Achilles snapped. "Now will the four of you just leave me and Athena alone?"  
  
Athena sighed softly so that Achilles would not hear. Looks like Achilles still wanted to be an Auror. He was just like Minerva: Stern and stubborn.  
  
"Well, that's the McGonagall temper, good thing that I got Dad's temper instead of Mom's," Athena thought. "Why is Mom so uptight about Aurors? What did she have against them?"  
  
***  
  
As the NEWTs drew near, Achilles was found studying furiously while Athena helped him to revise (Sine she doesn't need to, she doesn't belong to 1983 anyway). He stopped the cold war between himself and his parents and the Hogwarts Sisters, since he had too much in his mind to keep it up.  
  
"Okay, tell me anything about an Acromantula." Athena said, looking at Achilles's Care For Magical Creatures textbook when they were in the Gryffindor Common Room. Sirius and Remus were on the other end of the room, discussing something.  
  
"Hm..Acromantula...Athena, you know that I am weak in this!" Achilles said.  
  
"That's the way to make you learn." Athena said sternly.  
  
"You remind of Mom." Achilles said.  
  
"I'm your sister, of course I remind you of her."  
  
"Let's see.... Acromantula is an eight-eyed spider that has thick black hair that covers its body and its legspan, which may reach up to 15 feet."  
  
"Hm-mm." Athena said, nodding her head. "Is it capable of human speech?"  
  
"Don't think so..." Achilles said uncertainly.  
  
"It is."  
  
Achilles sighed.  
  
"Don't give up, Bro." Athena said and smiled encouragingly.  
  
"Okay. It lives in dense jungle in..." Achilles paused. "Now where exactly does it live...." he said to himself.  
  
"Borneo!" Athena said tiredly.  
  
"AH! With this rate, I will never get an "Outstanding" in Care For Magical Creatures!" Achilles said before he threw up his hands.  
  
"I can't believe it! Malfoy is actually announcing his marriage to my cousin on the Daily Prophet?! As if it is a big thing..." Sirius said to Remus loudly.  
  
"Shut up, Black!" Achilles yelled in frustration.  
  
***  
  
The N.E.W.Ts and the O.W.Ls finally arrived and Athena decided to stay in the common room while Achilles and the rest went to take their tests.  
  
After the tests, Achilles often came back to the common room with different looks on his face. On the first day of the tests, the school had Transfiguration. He came back to the common room after the test, looking as if he had already won the war against the NEWTs. Unfortunately, he came back the next day after the History of Magic test with a stunned look on his face, which probably meant that he didn't do well in the test. The third day, he came back with a smile. On the fourth day, which was Care For Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, Achilles came back with a neutral look that Athena really couldn't read. On the fifth day, which had Astronomy, Athena stayed up late for Achilles and found him coming back with a tired look. On the sixth day, Achilles had Herbology and Athena saw him came back with a grim smile, so Athena didn't know whether he had done well or not. On the seventh day, Achilles came back with a big grin after Charms.  
  
On the last day, the school had Defence Against the Dark Arts. Achilles went off with confidence for his test and came back with a bright smile.  
  
"So, how did it go?" Athena asked.  
  
Achilles's smile changed into a grin. "It is so easy! I can finish it in half an hour!" He folded his arms and laughed proudly. "Now there is no way why I can't be an Auror! I will get an "Outstanding" in all my subjects!" he said.  
  
"What about the History of Magic, Herbology, Astronomy, Care For Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes?" Athena asked.  
  
"Those are hard but I managed to do all I know, so I will at least get an "Exceed Expectations. Except for Astronomy, I will probably get an "Outstanding"."  
  
"Achilles! Achilles!" A 4th year boy shouted as he came in.  
  
"What?" Achilles asked.  
  
"Come to the lake! Potter is bullying Snape for fun again!"  
  
"Oh man! When will that boy grow up?!" Achilles said in annoyance as he, Athena and the boy went out.  
  
***  
  
"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?" James yelled as he continued to hang Snape upside down in the air, his robes falling over his head to reveal skinny legs and a pair of greying underpants after Lily left. Sirius and Peter were cheering while Remus didn't say a word.  
  
"Oh no!" Athena said when they arrived.  
  
"Hey, stop it!" Achilles said furiously.  
  
"Make me!" James said, clearly not going to listen to the Head Boy for the moment.  
  
"I wonder how James ended up being the Head Boy...." Athena thought. Achilles growled and pointed his wand at James.  
  
"Achilles, no!" Athena cried in horror. "There must be some other way to do this!"  
  
"I will teach you a lesson to hang someone upside down!" Achilles said, ignoring Athena.  
  
"Come on, Achilles...." Sirius started.  
  
"Let me teach you a new spell, Potter, Venas!" He yelled.  
  
James shrieked with pain and let go off his wand. Sirius, Peter yelled in terror and Remus finally looked up from his book.  
  
Snape, on the other hand, started to drop from the air.  
  
"Tardesco!" Achilles said quickly, pointing his wand at Snape this time and he slowed down until he landed safely to the ground.  
  
"James, James! Are you all right?" Sirius said anxiously.  
  
"Ah, my hand!" James said as he squatted down, clutching his hand.  
  
"Why? Let me see your hand, James!" Sirius said, trying to remove James's good hand from his injured hand.  
  
He yanked James's hand and the gang stared in shock at his hand.  
  
James's hand was badly wounded, as if someone had slashed it. Blood was oozing out of the wound in huge amount.  
  
"Oh no, somebody bring him to the hospital wing immediately!" A handsome Ravenclaw boy with blond hair and brown eyes cried.  
  
Sirius grabbed hold of James's shoulder and pulled him up. "Come on, James, come on!" He cried and the foursome ran off to the castle.  
  
"Achilles, how can you do this?" The boy demanded. "He is your fellow Gryffindor!"  
  
"Philip, you are a Ravenclaw, surely you are smart enough to know who is right and who is wrong. According to what that boy," he pointed at the 4th year boy, "Potter was bullying Snape for fun."  
  
"But...." The Ravenclaw boy didn't know where to start. He threw up his hands in the end. "But he is a Gryffindor!"  
  
"So? I don't take sides." Achilles said coolly.  
  
"But detention is more appropriate..." The Ravenclaw boy said.  
  
"Detention never works on Potter, Philip, you don't know him." Achilles said tiredly.  
  
Snape got up with his face red. "Thanks, McGonagall, although I think that you don't deserve it."  
  
"Whatever." Achilles said.  
  
***  
  
James's hand finally recovered, but he refused to talk to Achilles for weeks. Narcissa Black had finally married to Lucius Malfoy and left Hogwarts, Sirius was so happy that he was found singing "Free At Last" in the Gryffindor Common Room so loudly and so many times that he annoyed all the Gryffindors. In the end Achilles had to threaten to hex him to shut him up.  
  
The end of year finally arrived, and unlike the OWLs, the NEWTs results were released early. To Achilles's delight, he got "Outstanding" in all his subjects.  
  
"Yes! Now I can be an Auror!" He said to Athena at the Great Hall.  
  
Athena smiled uneasily, knowing that Achilles would soon quarrel with their mother and left home.  
  
"What is that smile mean? Aren't you happy for me?" Achilles asked.  
  
"Of course I am." Athena said quickly.  
  
Sirius suddenly came to them and asked: "Hm, Achilles?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Your father." Sirius said and saw Achilles raising his eyebrow.  
  
Athena went pale. "Oh no, don't tell me that....." She thought.  
  
"What about him?" Achilles asked calmly.  
  
"Who exactly is he?" Sirius asked boldly. "Don't tell me that it is someone named McGonagall, I know that you are lying. You look just like...."  
  
Achilles turned slowly and gave Sirius a look that could freeze the fires in Hades and said: "Whoever my father is really none of your business."  
  
Sirius backed away. "Okay, okay, I won't ask again..." He said and walked away quickly.  
  
"Do I really look like Dad?" Achilles asked Athena after Sirius had left.  
  
"A little." Athena said. 


	11. Back to the Future

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Some of the scenes and lines come from "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and I certainly do not own them  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 11: Back to the future  
  
A week later, the last day of school and also the 7th years' graduation ceremony arrived and it was held in the Great Hall. At the morning, Achilles was showing off his graduation robes to Athena in the 7th year boys dormitory, which was black, trimmed at the edges with thick golden threads and had the Hogwarts crest on the chest. His pointed hat was black as well. Athena just adored it and hoped that she could do well enough to wear that when she was back in 2004.  
  
At dinner time, Dumbledore announced the winner of the House Cup, Gryffindor didn't win, of course, Ravenclaw won and Athena saw Achilles giving Philip a thumbs-up.  
  
The graduation ceremony was held at the night and to Athena's surprise, not all the 7th years' graduation robes were the same. Although Achilles's robes were trimmed with gold threads, she saw the Ravenclaw boy, whom Achilles called Philip, had robes trimmed with bronze coloured threads. The 7th year Slytherins had robes trimmed with sliver threads and the Hufflepuffs had pure black robes.  
  
The Great Hall had rows of seats instead of the usual House tables and had the Hogwarts Banner hang behind the High Table. At the sides of the Hall were the usual Houses Banners.  
  
Minerva gathered all the graduating students (Athena went to sit with the 6th years, who were also attending the ceremony, at the back of the Great Hall) and let Dumbledore to say the farewell speech to them.  
  
"Now I won't say much, since all of you are eager to get your certificate and be graduated," started Dumbledore. "Your last day of school is finally here. After today, you can leave Hogwarts and do whatever you want, whether to be an Auror (Athena saw Achilles giving Philip a grin), a curse-breaker at Gringotts, a personal at the Ministry of Magic or even a teacher back here at Hogwarts. Although I don't think anyone will want to do that, since graduation is the best way to get rid of us."  
  
Some of the students laughed. Achilles and Athena didn't say anything, since they had the Transfiguration instructor and the Headmaster as their parents.  
  
"All of you are the best students in Hogwarts and we are honour to have you. I just wish all the best for you in the future, thank you."  
  
The students and teachers clapped. Minerva and Mandy left the Great Hall and came back with a big box of certificates and put it down beside Dumbledore.  
  
Minerva took out a scroll from her robes and said, "Now when I called your name, please come forward to get your certificate."  
  
She called out the first name and when a Slytherin student came, a certificate with sliver ribbon flew out of the box and landed on Dumbledore's hands. He gave it to the student, and the student bow to the audience.  
  
As the ceremony went on, Athena noticed that the certificate were the same as the robes. Certificates with sliver ribbons were for the Slytherins, golden ribbons were for the Gryffindors, bronze coloured ribbons were for the Ravenclaws and the black ribbons were for the Hufflepuffs.  
  
When she arrived at "M" for Achilles, Athena clapped loudly as she watched her brother marched smartly to his father, smiled at him and received his certificate. She saw that Minerva was wiping her tears with a handkerchief while Mandy, Poppy, Georgia and Dumbledore were smiling.  
  
"Aw, look, Professor McGonagall is crying." said Charles Wood, who was sitting beside Athena.  
  
"Of course she will, Achilles McGonagall is her son. Seeing your son graduating is a very happy thing." said Lockhart from behind.  
  
"Finally, Lockhart is talking sense." thought Athena.  
  
"Hey, wait a minute, I thought you are in the 7th year with your brother." said Charles.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Then why are you sitting here?"  
  
"Err, I........can't." said Athena slowly.  
  
"Why?" asked Lockhart.  
  
"Oh, I know, you are new here! So you have to repeat a year to catch up!" said Charles.  
  
"Um, yeah." lied Athena. "I am starting to lie like Mom." She thought.  
  
***  
  
When the ceremony was finally over, the 7th years cheered and threw their hats in the air. Athena rushed through the crowd and hugged her brother as tightly as she could.  
  
"Oh I am so happy for you!!" She cried.  
  
"Thanks........" started Achilles when Mandy came to them.  
  
"Hey there, how about a party for my Godson in my office?" She asked. "Your mother, the Hogwarts Sisters and your father will be there, of course."  
  
"All right! Is there any Butterbeer?" asked Achilles.  
  
"You bet!"  
  
"Yeah! Come on, Sis, let's party!"  
  
***  
  
Achilles opened his certificate at Mandy's office and found that instead of the name "Achilles McGonagall" on the certificate, "Achilles Dumbledore" was on it.  
  
"My rightful name!" said Achilles happily.  
  
"Cast a special spell on it so that it would fly out when I said McGonagall." said Minerva and hugged her son. "I am so proud of you."  
  
Athena looked at her brother and mother, wondering how a stupid argument could tear them apart.  
  
"Athena, Athena? Hey, Earth to Athena!" yelled Minerva, waving her hand in front of Athena's face.  
  
"Huh, what?" asked Athena.  
  
"What's wrong with you, huh?"  
  
"Nothing." said Athena immediately. "Can I have a Chocolate Frog?"  
  
***  
  
The party went on until 11 am. Achilles and Athena went back to the Gryffindor Common Room and saw that the Gryffindors' graduation party was still going on.  
  
"Hey, Achilles! Come and have a drink of Butterbeer with us!" yelled a 7th year.  
  
"But........." started Achilles.  
  
"No buts!" The 7th year interrupted and grabbed Achilles's hand. He shoved a bottle of Butterbeer into Achilles's hands.  
  
"Well, okay.........." said Achilles.  
  
"I will see you tomorrow morning. Goodnight." said Athena and gave her brother a sisterly kiss on his cheek.  
  
Achilles blushed furiously while his classmates teased.  
  
Athena was on the staircase when he said, "Come on, she is just my sister!!"  
  
Athena went to her bed at the 7th year girls' dormitory, climbed in and lay awake, listening to the party below. She kept on listening until she finally drifted off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
"Athena, Athena, wake up." called a female voice.  
  
Then the sound of curtain being drawn was heard.  
  
"Athena, it is already 10am! Wake up!" said the woman sternly.  
  
"Come on, the train won't be leaving until 12 pm!" said Athena tiredly, without opening her eyes.  
  
"What are you talking about?" said the woman.  
  
Athena's eyes snapped open and she saw her mother standing beside her bed, with her hands on her hips.  
  
"M-Mom?!" She exclaimed, sitting up on her bed. She looked around the room and saw her usual things that she had in her bedroom in 2004. She looked down and saw that she was clutching her wand and the picture of Achilles. The horrible truth sank in immediately. She was back to her present time.  
  
"Oh no." groaned Athena.  
  
"What?" asked Minerva, and then she caught sight of Achilles's photo. Her face darkened and she held out her hand. "Give me that, Athena."  
  
Athena shook her head slowly.  
  
"He is not worthy for you to acknowledge!" snapped Minerva. "Now give me that!"  
  
Athena shook her head harder.  
  
Minerva swallowed and closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, she looked calmer. "All right, fine. Tell me the truth, Athena. Did you go back to the past last night?"  
  
Athena nodded slowly. "But I still don't know why you are so against the idea of Achilles being an Auror."  
  
"You will never understand." said Minerva quietly.  
  
"Of course I won't, if you don't tell me why."  
  
"I can't." said Minerva with her voice shook. "The Hogwarts Sisters and I had made a solemn oath not to talk about it."  
  
"Is it about 1953? What happened during that year?" pressed Athena.  
  
"Look, Athena, I will not talk about it!" said Minerva loudly and left the room.  
  
"That is probably the reason why Achilles left!" shouted Athena behind her mother.  
  
Minerva didn't look back.  
  
Athena lay back onto her bed and sobbed. "Damn this stupid time-travel, damn this oath, damn 1953! Now I will never see Achilles again!" 


	12. Achilles Again

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 12: Achilles Again  
  
"I'm going out." said Athena a few hours later after lunch to her mother in the living room.  
  
Minerva just made a noise in response, just like Achilles when he was in a bad mood.  
  
"The famous McGonagall temper." thought Athena, shaking her head.  
  
She went out and stopped at the gate, wondering where to go. She said that she was going out simply because she couldn't stand to be in the house, not because she had SOMEWHERE to go.  
  
She thought for a while and snapped her fingers. "That's it! Mandy! She will tell me what is going on in 1953!" she said and left.  
  
***  
  
"Sorry, kiddo, can't tell ya. It's the Hogwarts Sisters' business." said Mandy apologetically at the Woods'.  
  
Athena, Mandy and Jonathan were in the garden, watching Oliver and Katie playing with their children.  
  
"Jonathan?" asked Athena hopefully.  
  
"Can't tell ya." said Jonathan shortly. (On a sidenote: He, Mandy, Georgia and Poppy had already known that Athena had gone to 1950 before)  
  
"Oh....... Hey, wait a second; you are not a Hogwarts Sister!" protested Athena.  
  
"True, but I am kind of involved in this. Plus, I am a Hogwarts Sister husband. So don't bother to ask your father, he won't say anything."  
  
"What about Georgia, Joe, Robert and Don? If I ask them.........." started Athena.  
  
"Forget it, they won't say anything either." interrupted Mandy.  
  
"That's probably why Achilles left," grumbled Athena. "All of you are too stubborn to tell him anything."  
  
"Achilles?" asked Jonathan curiously. "Who is he?"  
  
"Tell you about him later," said Mandy to her husband and turned to Athena. "Well, we didn't expect that he would leave his home."  
  
Athena just sighed. "Damn this stupid 1953."  
  
Mandy suddenly frowned and Jonathan shifted uneasily. "It is not stupid." said Mandy sternly.  
  
Athena blinked in surprise. "Okay, okay, so it is not stupid......" she sighed again. "I will never see Achilles again."  
  
"Aw, don't be upset, if there is such thing as Fate, maybe you two will meet." said Mandy gently, put her arm around Athena and embraced her affectionately.  
  
"Whee, come Josephine in her flying machine, in the air she goes!!" sang Oliver, lifting his daughter high up in the air and swung her around.  
  
"Careful, Oliver!" called Mandy.  
  
"Yes, Madam Hooch, I mean, grandma!" replied Oliver as he lowered his laughing daughter down.  
  
***  
  
Athena left an hour later and decided to go to the shopping street at Helga Road. She went right into a clean Muggle-looking bar and sat at the counter.  
  
"Welcome Miss, what can I get for you?" asked the bartender.  
  
"Anything to get my mind off a man." said Athena grumpily.  
  
"Oh, have you been dumped?" He asked in concern.  
  
"No," snapped Athena and paused. "Well, sort of. He left me and my family years ago."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"17."  
  
"Well, I can't get you a Firewhiskey, even though that is the best drink to get your mind off things. You are too young. How about a Butterbeer?"  
  
Athena shook her head. "Butterbeer reminds me of him."  
  
"Apple rum? It's a new drink. It's light in alcohol."  
  
"Okay."  
  
"One apple rum, coming right up." said the bartender and left.  
  
A minute later, the bartender came back with a green coloured drink in a tall glass. He handed it to Athena when the door opened again.  
  
The bartender looked up and called, "Hey there, old friend! Usual, I presume?"  
  
Athena, whose back was facing the door, didn't bother to turn around.  
  
"No, give me a Firewhiskey." said a male voice and the newcomer sat down near Athena.  
  
"Gee, want to forget about something?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Wow, what day is it anyway? Everyone wants to forget about something." said the bartender as he poured a white drink into a glass.  
  
"Hey, I have been trying to forget about this stupid thing for 20 years, okay?" snapped the man.  
  
"What is the problem?"  
  
"Okay, think about this: Imagine having a sister that you can't even see since she was born."  
  
"Not allow to? But why?"  
  
"Why? Why? Because I had an argument with my mother before she was born!" said the man, drinking his Firewhiskey in one go and slamming the glass down.  
  
"Poor man." thought Athena as she drank her rum.  
  
"What sort of argument?" asked the bartender as he refilled his glass.  
  
"I don't want to talk about it, let's talk about something else." snapped the man and lifted his glass for another drink.  
  
"Okay, how's your job being an Auror?"  
  
Athena nearly choked on her rum. 20 years? Auror? Sister? Wait a minute, that sounded like........ She turned slowly and saw a charming man around his 30's with black hair and green eyes. Even though he looked older and had a moustache, Athena could recognize him.  
  
"Achilles? Bro, is that you?" asked Athena uncertainly.  
  
The man froze, his hand was in midair.  
  
"Achilles? Since when did you change your name, old boy?" asked the bartender in confusion.  
  
"Err, she must had mistaken me as someone else." said the man nervously and tried to smile.  
  
"Bro, I know it's you. I recognize those green eyes of yours anywhere, you got them from Mom!" insisted Athena.  
  
"Um, I think I have to go, there's something I have to do at the Ministry." said the man quickly.  
  
He got up without looking at Athena, paid for his drink and left.  
  
"Achilles, wait!" she cried.  
  
"Miss, I really think that you have mistaken................" started the bartender.  
  
Athena just put two Galleons on the counter and ran after the man. Once she got out of the bar, she saw a familiar figure walking down the street.  
  
"Bro, wait up!" she called.  
  
The figure walked faster and turned around a corner at the end of the street.  
  
"Hey!" she yelled and ran.  
  
Once she got around the corner, the man was gone.  
  
"Darn! He must have disapparate!" cursed Athena angrily.  
  
"I am sure that's Achilles, I know his eyes anywhere! Let's see, if he is found around this area, he must be living here! But how am I going to find him?"  
  
Athena thought deeply. "Think, Athena, think! The bartender said something about his job as an Auror.......that's it! I will go to the Aurors headquarters at the Ministry and ask about him! That's right, I will go tomorrow! Achilles, here I come!"  
  
Happily, Athena turned around and walked home.  
  
***  
  
At dinner, Dumbledore and Minerva couldn't help noticing their daughter smiling over her bowl of tomato salad.  
  
"What's the news, Athena?" asked Dumbledore, smiling.  
  
"Hm, what? Nothing, nothing," said Athena in a sing-song voice and chewed her lettuce. "By the way, I am not going to be around tomorrow."  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Minerva sharply.  
  
"Hermione's." lied Athena immediately.  
  
Minerva didn't say anything else.  
  
"I am a good liar," thought Athena. "Just like Mom." 


	13. The Auror Headquarters

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Some of the characters belong to the A&E series "Hornblower", so I certainly don't own them (wish I could)  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban movie trailer is out!! Whee!! Watch it, everyone, it's cool!  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Jestana: No, not yet  
  
Isabelle3: No, Dumbledore does not hold it against Achilles because he wanted to be an Auror. In fact, he respected his decision. That is why he told Minerva that she should learned to let Achilles go.  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 13: The Auror Headquarters  
  
The next morning, once Athena had finished her breakfast, she went upstairs to her room. She grabbed a piece of parchment and her quill and sat down at her desk.  
  
She quickly wrote:  
  
Hermione,  
  
If my mother asks about me, tell her that I am at your place, (yes, I am asking you to lie to your favourite professor) please. It's important, I will explain it to you when I have the time.  
  
Athena  
  
She stuffed the letter into an envelope and whistled for her owl, Bubo. The barn owl flew to her immediately and she tied her letter to her leg.  
  
"Bring this to Hermione and fast." She ordered and Bubo flew off.  
  
Once she did, Athena reached for her wand, and stuffed it in her small shoulder bag. She smiled in satisfaction and went downstairs.  
  
***  
  
She quickly left the house and walked out of the street where all the magical folks lived. Once she got out of the street, Athena went straight for a Muggle underground train station.  
  
An hour later, Athena finally arrived to London. She went up the escalator, through the ticket barrier, came out to the street and walked down a side road until she reached a street of several shabby-looking offices, a pub and an overflowing skip. She went straight to the old telephone box, went in and dialled 62442 on the phone.  
  
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business." said the cool female voice.  
  
"Um, the name is Athena McGonagall," said Athena, knowing that she must not use her father's name. "I am here to, um, visit the Auror Headquarters."  
  
"Thank you, visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes.'  
  
After a click and a rattle, Athena picked up the square silver badge that said, "Athena McGonagall, Visitor to the Auror Headquarters."  
  
"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."  
  
The telephone box sank to the ground and when it stopped, the female voice greeted, "The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day."  
  
Once the door of the telephone box opened, Athena looked around. The Atrium had been repaired after the fights between her father and Voldemort, Harry and Bellatrix Lestrange. The golden statues of the fountain were back to their original places, good as new. The floor was repaired and back to its original state.  
  
After Athena checked her wand, she went through the golden gates and into the smaller hall where she waited for a lift. Besides Athena, there was a handsome wizard with curly blond hair and brown eyes in his 30s. He looked familiar to Athena but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before. When the lift came, he gestured for Athena to go in first.  
  
Once they went in, the man pressed the number 2 asked, "Which floor, Miss?"  
  
Athena paused, not having a slightly clue which floor the Auror Department was.  
  
"Come now, I don't have all day." he said impatiently.  
  
"Um, which floor is the Auror Department situated?" asked Athena.  
  
The man stared at her for a while before he said, "That would be my floor, then."  
  
As the lift went up, he stepped back and folded his arms.  
  
After a while, he found that Athena was staring at him. He asked, "Is there anything wrong?"  
  
"Nothing," said Athena quickly. "Just that you looked oddly familiar. Have we met?"  
  
The man raised an eyebrow at her and said, "I am not interested in little girls."  
  
"I am not little!" protested Athena.  
  
"Whatever." said the man coolly.  
  
Athena just about to say that he DID look familiar to her when the cool female voice said, "Level Two, Department of Magical Law Enforcement, including the Improper Use of Magic Office, Auror Headquarters and Wizengamot Administration Services."  
  
The lift doors opened and the man let Athena to go out first. Once again, Athena didn't know where to go as she stared at the corridor lined with doors.  
  
"Um, Sir, do you know where exactly the Auror Headquarters is?" She asked, looking back at him.  
  
He frowned. "Look, I am too busy to waste my time on annoying little girls like you. If you want to ask silly questions, go somewhere else."  
  
"I didn't mean to," said Athena helplessly. "It's my first time here."  
  
The man's frown deepened. Then he said, "Fine, follow me."  
  
Athena followed him down the corridor and around the corner. He stopped at a pair of heavy oak doors and opened it.  
  
Once he did, Athena's jaws nearly dropped. The place was simply full of handsome wizards in robes. Some of them were talking; some were running here and there with their arms full of parchments. Some were sitting at their cubicles, writing.  
  
"Wotcher, Athena, what are you doing here?" asked a voice and the two of them turned around.  
  
"Tonks, hi!" said Athena brightly and the man simply nodded at her, whose hairstyle for the day was spiky bright blue hair with matching blue robes.  
  
"Nice hair colour." Athena grinned.  
  
"You know her, Tonks? Good, I will leave her to you then." said the man and turned around.  
  
"Yes, Sir." sang Tonks and he scowled.  
  
"Never mind about him," said Tonks after he left. "He is posh and a bit stuck-up because he is one of the youngest Aurors of the higher rank. But overall, he is okay. So, what brings you here to this men heaven?"  
  
"I am looking for an Auror but I am not sure where he is," said Athena truthfully. "Tonks, is there an Auror here whose name is Achilles?"  
  
"Then you are asking the wrong person, I have been here for years but I still can't get some of colleagues' names right. You can ask Kingsley but he is out. Why don't you ask the head, maybe he knows." said Tonks helpfully.  
  
"Okay." said Athena and Tonks led her to the left of the room.  
  
Suddenly, Tonks stopped and Athena nearly bumped into her when she said, "Morning Sir."  
  
This time, Tonks used the word "Sir" in a respectable way in contrast to the playful tone she used on the man just now.  
  
Athena looked from behind and saw a wizard around his 50s with black robes, looking closely at her.  
  
"Morning Tonks, who is this?" he asked.  
  
"Oh, this is my friend, Athena," said Tonks, shifting Athena to the front so that the wizard could see her. "She is here to look for an Auror but she is not sure where he is."  
  
"Very well, leave her to me," he said. "Now get back to work. And do something about your hair."  
  
"Yes Sir, right away, Sir," said Tonks quickly. "Bye Athena, see ya next time."  
  
She left.  
  
"Morning Miss, name is Edward Pellew," said the man, extending a hand to her. "I am the head of this headquarters."  
  
"Athena McGonagall." said Athena as she shook his hand.  
  
"McGonagall? Say, are you relating to Minerva McGonagall?" asked Pellew with interest.  
  
"Of course, she is my mother."  
  
"Well, what a surprise! I used to study at Hogwarts too, under her House. I can say that she is the best teacher I ever have. Is she still teaching there?"  
  
Athena nodded.  
  
"Quite nice to see her daughter here, you look just like her......now back to business," said Pellew, quickly changed the topic. "What did Tonks say you are here for?"  
  
"Looking for an Auror."  
  
"Right then, follow me." he said and she did.  
  
They arrived at a cubicle which seemed to be bigger than the rest. Its walls had medals and certificate on it and there were piles of files on the desk.  
  
Pellew sat down. "Now then, what is the Auror's name?"  
  
"Achilles McGonagall." said Athena, knowing that Achilles would never use their father's name.  
  
"Is he related to you?"  
  
"He is my brother."  
  
Pellew raised his eyebrow. "Well, if he is your brother, you should have an idea where he is."  
  
"I don't know, he left home years ago." said Athena quietly.  
  
Pellew didn't question further. He took a file labelled 'M' and opened it. He ran his finger down a page, muttering: "McGonagall........."  
  
Finally, he looked up. "I'm sorry; Miss McGonagall, but I don't have the name in the register."  
  
"But you got to have!" said Athena, sounding younger than she intended to. "I know that he is working here!"  
  
"Hm, well, may I suggest asking some of the younger Aurors here?"  
  
Athena nodded.  
  
Pellew closed his file, stood up, looked over his cubicle and called loudly: "Mr. Wellard!"  
  
Athena frowned at the name, looked over and saw a handsome white faced boy with dark hair who was no older than 25.  
  
"Wellard? Terrence Wellard, is that you?"  
  
Wellard looked up. "Hey there, Athena! How are you? I have not seen you since I graduated 5 years ago!"  
  
"Fine. By the way, do you know anyone here whose name is Achilles?"  
  
Wellard thought for a while and shook his head. "By the way, how's Harry, Ron and Hermione?"  
  
Pellew cleared his throat loudly.  
  
Wellard turned quickly to Pellew. "Yes, Sir?"  
  
"Get Mr. Hornblower, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Bush here, if you please!"  
  
"Yes Sir!" said Wellard, grinned at Athena before he left.  
  
Soon, three gorgeous men in dark blue robes came back.  
  
"Sir!"  
  
"Gentlemen, this young lady here is looking for an Auror named Achilles McGonagall. Do any of you know him?"  
  
All three of them thought.  
  
"No Sir." said all of them at last.  
  
Athena sighed.  
  
"What does he look like?" asked a young man with neat blond hair and light blue eyes.  
  
"He has black hair, green eyes and a moustache, if I remember correctly."  
  
"How old is he?" asked the man with long curly brown hair (which he tied back in a ponytail) and big brown eyes.  
  
"38."  
  
"38........ Hey Archie, how old are you?" The man asked the young man.  
  
"Don't be silly, Horatio, you know that I am only 28 this year." said the man, punching his friend playfully.  
  
"William, how old are you?" Hornblower asked the man with curly brown hair and blue eyes.  
  
"30." replied Bush.  
  
"Well, none of us are the same age as Chillies........" started Hornblower.  
  
"It is Achilles." corrected Athena coldly.  
  
"Oops, sorry. What am I trying to say is, none of us are the same age as Achilles McGonagall. If we are, we will be taking the same Auror tests with him in the same year. Then we are bound to know him." explained Hornblower.  
  
"Is there any Aurors here who are the same age as Achilles McGonagall?" Pellew asked Hornblower.  
  
"Hm........." said Hornblower, trying to think.  
  
"Um, forgive me for interrupting, Sir," said Kennedy slowly. "But there is one Auror I know who is 38 this year."  
  
"Who?" asked all four of them.  
  
Kennedy looked at them in return. "Philip Edrington, didn't you know?"  
  
Hornblower slapped his forehead. "Of course! Edrington! God, I'm a forgetful son of a swab."  
  
"Easy, easy," said Bush. "The headquarters is so big; you can't possibly remember the details of all the Aurors."  
  
"True, Mr. Hornblower, don't blame yourself." said Pellew. "Well, Miss McGonagall, I shall bring you to Edrington's cubicle. Hopefully that he knows your brother. Thank you, gentlemen, you may go back to work."  
  
"Yes Sir!" said all three of them and ran off.  
  
"Follow me, Miss McGonagall." said Pellew as he walked out of his cubicle.  
  
As they walked, Athena thought about the name Philip Edrington, which sounded familiar. Now where had she heard the name before........  
  
A minute later, they arrived at Edrington's cubicle.  
  
"Looks like Edrington is not around," said Pellew. "I guess we have to wait for a while."  
  
Athena looked at the photos on Edrington's desk in surprise. Philip Edrington was actually the same man who brought her here.  
  
There were photos of himself in Muggle clothes.  
  
Himself in a wedding suit, wrapping his arms around a beautiful woman with blond hair (Athena assumed that she was his wife)  
  
Himself and his wife standing behind two young children, a boy and a girl.  
  
There were also photos of himself when he was younger, smiling brightly.  
  
And........  
  
Athena stared at the last few photos in shock. There were photos of his younger self and the younger Achilles.  
  
"That's it! Philip Edrington is Achilles's friend from Ravenclaw!" thought Athena.  
  
Athena was looking at a photo of Edrington and Achilles standing together in the Great Hall in their graduation robes when she heard someone saying, "Mr. Pellew? What are you doing here?"  
  
Athena turned around sharply and stared at Edrington.  
  
"You again!" said Edrington, clearly not very happy to see her.  
  
"You know her, Mr. Edrington?" asked Pellew.  
  
"Not really," said Edrington.  
  
"I know him!" said Athena. "He is my brother's friend from Ravenclaw!"  
  
Edrington raised an eyebrow and turned to Athena. "Really? What is your brother's name?"  
  
"Duh! It's Achilles McGonagall!" said Athena impatiently.  
  
Edrington was silent for a while before he said, "Who?"  
  
"The one in your photos!" Athena pointed.  
  
Edrington stared at the photos and picked the graduation day photo up. "That's not Adonis or Apollo or whatever you called him." he said.  
  
"Who is he then?" Athena challenged.  
  
"My friend, Richard Smith." said Edrington calmly.  
  
Athena's mouth nearly dropped open. "No way!" she exclaimed.  
  
Pellew leaned forward to look at the photo. "You are right, Mr. Edrington, that is Richard Smith in his younger days."  
  
Athena shook her head in disbelief weakly. "No, but that's him.......I recognize his eyes......."  
  
Edrington shook his head. "Sorry, Miss but I don't have any friend whose sister is in your age."  
  
Athena rubbed her head as if it hurts. Why everyone insisted that the one in the picture was not her brother?  
  
"Are you all right?" asked Pellew in concern.  
  
Athena nodded slowly and looked up. "Okay, why don't you ask him to come here so that I can clarify things with him?"  
  
"I love to, Miss. But unfortunately, Mr. Smith is not around today. I think I have Richard's address in my file. Why don't I get it for you?" Pellew offered.  
  
"Pardon me for interrupting, Sir but I don't think Richard had written down his address on your file." said Edrington quickly.  
  
"Do you know his address?" asked Pellew.  
  
Edrington was silent.  
  
"Answer me, Mr. Edrington."  
  
"Yes, Sir." He said quietly.  
  
"Give the address to the good lady, then."  
  
"I afraid I can't, Sir." said Edrington boldly.  
  
"And why is that, Mr. Edrington?"  
  
"Richard trusts me to not giving his address to anyone."  
  
Pellew stared at Edrington before he said, "Edrington, I understand that you are a very good friend to Richard, but this is not just anyone, this is possibly his sister. If she has something for him, you should tell her."  
  
"Sorry Sir, but as far as I know, Richard do not have such a young sister. I can't give it to her unless she proves that she is."  
  
Pellew turned to Athena. "Do you have any proof, Miss McGonagall?"  
  
"What kind of proof?"  
  
"Just tell me an incident during his 7th year at Hogwarts."  
  
"That's ridiculous, Mr. Edrington! It has been 21 years since Richard graduated from Hogwarts, how is this young lady suppose to know about his 7th year?"  
  
"Okay," said Athena, smiling. "Let me tell you about what happened during the last day of the NEWTs. Severus Snape was bullied by James Potter near the lake. He was hung in the mid-air upside down. James was going to take off his pants when my brother, or Richard as you two called him, rushed to the scene and demanded James to let him go. He refused, so he cut his hand. James' hand was heavily wounded."  
  
"You," She pointed at Edrington. "Asked my brother why he did that to a fellow Gryffindor, my brother said: 'Philip, you are a Ravenclaw, surely you are smart enough to know who is right and who is wrong.' Then you said: 'But he is a Gryffindor!' So my brother said coolly: 'So? I don't take sides'. You said: 'But detention is more appropriate.........' In the end my brother said: 'Detention never works on Potter, Philip, you don't know him.'."  
  
Edrington and Pellew were staring at her when she finished.  
  
"How did you know about that?" asked Edrington in shock.  
  
"She has proved it, Edrington, give the address to her."  
  
"But........." started Edrington.  
  
"Give it to her, Edrington. I will bear the consequences."  
  
"Oh all right," said Edrington unwillingly. "He lives in Plymouth........."  
  
"Plymouth?! That's miles away from here!" exclaimed Athena, looking up from the piece of parchment that she took out from her bag to write on.  
  
"Miss, if you do not want the rest of the address, I am glad to be quiet." said Edrington.  
  
"No, give it to me, please."  
  
"No. 24 A, Wisdom Street. He lives on the third floor, the first door to the left."  
  
Athena scribbled down the address and gave her thanks.  
  
"No problem, I guess," replied Edrington. "Now if you excused me, I must get back to my work. Good day, Miss, Mr. Pellew." he said and sat down at his desk.  
  
"Good to see that you got an address; let's just hope that Richard is really your brother." said Pellew.  
  
Athena nodded. "I need to go home now, can you show me the way out of here, please?"  
  
Pellew opened his mouth when Wellard came to him and said, "Mr. Pellew, you are required to see Mr. Bush at his cubicle. He needs your assistance."  
  
"Very well, I will come," said Pellew. "Mr. Wellard, kindly show Miss McGonagall out, if you please."  
  
"Yes Sir. Follow me, Athena." said Wellard and brought Athena to the doors. "So Athena, why are you here? Who is this Achilles person?"  
  
"Long story." said Athena shortly and sighed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day. 


	14. The McGonagall Temper In Action

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: I have to borrow Wellard from "Hornblower" again, he is so sweet~~~  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Spoilers from "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"  
  
Any Percy fans out there? Just be warned that I'm scolding him in this chapter  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Jestana: Is my description of his expression when he saw Athena the same as what you think will be?  
  
stoneygem: I think you know where I got the name from. *grins*  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 14: The McGonagall Temper in Action  
  
"So that's why your brother left? Just because your mother won't let him to be an Auror?" asked Wellard as he and Athena walked down Wisdom Street the next afternoon. He decided to accompany her to Plymouth since it was too far away and it was his day-off.  
  
"Yeah." said Athena flatly.  
  
"There must be some good reason why your mother won't let him to be an Auror........" Wellard said and Athena looked at him. "Okay, so my Head of the House is Professor Sprout instead of your mother. But I know that she is not the kind of people who do certain things without a good reason."  
  
Athena didn't respond.  
  
"Here we are, 24 A. Want to go up by yourself?" asked Wellard.  
  
"I think I will go up by myself. You wait here." Athena smiled at him before she walked up the stairs.  
  
A few minutes later, she came down.  
  
"Wow, that's fast." said Wellard.  
  
"Well, the name "Richard Smith" is on the door but he is not in." said Athena and sighed.  
  
"Come on, he will be back. Look, why don't we just sit there and wait?" said Wellard and pointed at a bench across the apartment.  
  
"Sure."  
  
***  
  
An hour later.........  
  
"What is taking him so long?" asked Athena in exasperation and looked at Wellard.  
  
"Don't look at me as if it is my fault." said Wellard quickly.  
  
Athena sighed again.  
  
"Why don't we chat to kill time?" suggested Wellard.  
  
So they chatted for the next two hours. Wellard asked about what happened to Hogwarts when he left 6 years ago, and he got his answer.  
  
".......on my fifth year, there's........"  
  
"Dolores Umbridge!" exclaimed Wellard. "I read it on the Daily Prophet."  
  
"What are you getting so excited about?" Athena asked him and her mouth dropped open. "Oh no, don't tell me that you read the Daily Prophet and used to believe that Da, I mean, Dumbledore is old and losing his grip too!"  
  
"Wait, who do you think I am? Hey, I was sorted into Hufflepuff for nothing you know. The rest of the Aurors who used to study in Hogwarts didn't believe the papers and they glad that they didn't in the end. I know where my loyalty lies right from the start," said Wellard and rolled his eyes. "Unlike that idiot Weasley."  
  
"Which Weasley?" asked Athena in amusement, knowing what Wellard was going to say.  
  
"Percy Weasley, that's who!" said Wellard in disgust. "You know what, that was a time when the Aurors were talking an article about Dumbledore being voted out of the Chairmanship of the International Confederation of Wizards and demoted from Chief Warlock on the Wizengamot in the Atrium."  
  
"We were laughing about the fact that Dumbledore said he doesn't care what they do as long as they don't take him off the Chocolate Frog Cards when Weasley pops out from nowhere and said," Wellard cleared his throat and started to talk in Percy's voice: "What a pity, his end is near and that old fool doesn't even realise it."  
  
Athena's mouth dropped open again. Suddenly she made a hiss like an angry cat. "How dare he talk about Dumbledore like that!"  
  
"Chill, Athena, chill!" said Wellard quickly in his own voice. "Don't act like what Mr. Smith did."  
  
"Terrence, for the third time of the day, he is not Mr. Smith! He is my brother!" snapped Athena.  
  
"And for the third time of the day, I will not believe it unless I see it with my own eyes."  
  
"Fine. Anyway, what did Mr. Smith (Athena tried hard to say that) do?"  
  
"Well, he hissed like you did just now, took out his wand and pointed it at Weasley."  
  
"And?"  
  
"Mr. Edrington said," Wellard changed his voice to Edrington's cool low voice. "Richard, don't do the same thing to Weasley like what you did to a Gryffindor in our 7th year." He changed back his voice and continued. "Mr. Smith didn't seem to hear him. He said to Weasley," He changed his voice again to a very familiar voice that Athena knew so well. "Weasley, do you want to know what it feels like to have your voice gone forever?"  
  
"Then what?" asked Athena breathlessly, as if Wellard was telling a very exciting story.  
  
"Weasley said," Wellard's voice changed to Percy's again. "No, what are you planning to do? Hex me? Ooo, I'm scared." he said in a mocking tone.  
  
"You should see Mr. Smith's face; he is so mad and looks like he IS going to hex Weasley. So every one of us tried to prevent him from doing so. But it was no use. Mr. Kennedy wanted to snatch his wand away but he is too short for him. Weasley seem to realize that Mr. Smith was going to hex him for real so he began to retreat. We almost had to watch helplessly as Mr. Smith opened his mouth to say the spell when Mr. Edrington said," Wellard's voice changed to Edrington's. "Fine, go ahead, and your face will appear on the Daily Prophet along with the headlines: 'Auror attacks Junior Assistant of Minister of Magic'."  
  
"Then what happened?"  
  
"He puts his wand down."  
  
"That's it?" asked Athena.  
  
"Yeah, boy, that was close."  
  
"Why did he do that?"  
  
"Well, for one thing certain, he didn't continue not because he is compassionate. He doesn't seem to have any compassion when it comes to dealing with dark wizards, law-breakers and anyone who provokes him."  
  
"He can't be that bad." said Athena to herself.  
  
Wellard heard that. "You are right. Overall, he is a great guy. He treats his friends like gems, he respects his superiors and pretty playful sometimes. Once, he ganged up with Mr. Kennedy and dye Mr. Bush's and Mr. Hornblower's hair pink while they were asleep."  
  
"He didn't!" exclaimed Athena.  
  
"He did."  
  
"By the way, how did you change your voice? That's amazing."  
  
Wellard smiled proudly. "Just one of the techniques an Auror must learn. Comes in handy when we are doing disguises."  
  
As Wellard said that, Athena saw a familiar figure riding a dark blue motorbike towards No. 24 A. "Terrence, Terrence! Is that him?" she asked and pointed the man, who got off from his motorbike. He was wearing a black jacket, white shirt and dark blue jeans and was searching his jacket for something.  
  
Wellard looked carefully. "Yeah, that's him all right."  
  
"Come on, let's........." started Athena and stopped when she saw what "Richard" was doing.  
  
"Richard" took out a packet of cigarettes and removed it from it. He took out a lighter, lit his cigarette and put it in his mouth.  
  
Athena watched in shock as "Richard" took a long drag from his cigarette, and jogged up the apartment stairs. "Hm, Terrence?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Does Mr. Smith smoke?"  
  
"Sure he does. Athena? Athena? Are you okay?"  
  
"Hm? Um, yeah, I am okay." said Athena quickly.  
  
Wellard didn't look convinced.  
  
"Really. Now let's go up."  
  
"Let's?"  
  
"I want you to do something........"  
  
***  
  
With the cigarette still in his mouth, "Richard" was unlocking his door with a Muggle key when Wellard came out from the staircase.  
  
"Mr. Smith, you are finally here, I have been waiting for you a long time." said Wellard, panting as if he had ran up the stairs.  
  
"Richard" removed his cigarette and held it by his hand. "What's the problem?" he asked seriously.  
  
"Well, it is not very serious......."  
  
"Want to come in?" asked "Richard" kindly.  
  
"Um, no thanks. I am in a rush," said Wellard quickly. "I need to ask you, do you have a sister?"  
  
"Richard" was silent for a while before he said, "I don't have a sister."  
  
"Oh really?" asked a voice behind Wellard and Athena came out.  
  
"Richard"'s jaws dropped. He let go of his cigarette and it dropped onto the floor. He quickly scrapped it with his boot. His face was unreadable. It looked like shock, amazement and oddly, horror.  
  
"A-Athena?" He asked uncertainly.  
  
"Hello, Achilles." said Athena coldly.  
  
"Richard" just nodded back in response.  
  
"Um, I think I better go." said Wellard.  
  
"Richard" and Athena, who were too busily staring at each other, didn't respond.  
  
"Bye." said Wellard quickly and walked down the stairs.  
  
"Now, since there's no one else beside us here, I think you better own up." said Athena calmly after Wellard left.  
  
"Fine," said "Richard", throwing his arms in the air. "I'm Achilles McGonagall aka Achilles Dumbledore." he said the last name with a whisper.  
  
"Good." said Athena and smiled.  
  
"Although I hated to admit it." added Achilles.  
  
"What's wrong with the name 'Achilles McGonagall'?" demanded Athena.  
  
"Let's talk inside." said Achilles and stepped aside to reveal his door.  
  
"All right." said Athena and went in.  
  
***  
  
"Want any drinks?" asked Achilles when Athena entered in his neat living room.  
  
"A glass of ice lemon tea will do." said Athena and looked around. "Not bad, looks like you can get along fine, living alone."  
  
She was admiring a life-size marble statue of a woman with a helmet, armour, an owl on her shoulder, a spear and a shield in her two hands at the corner of the room when Achilles said from the kitchen: "Hey, I have living here for 19 years, of course I will get used with this place. And I don't live exactly alone most of the time. I shared this apartment with Philip Edrington before he got married and moved out 13 years ago."  
  
"But Edrington said that he doesn't know you. Well, that is not his exact words but he doesn't seem to know the name "Achilles McGonagall"." said Athena, still trying to read the small inscription on a wooden board near the woman.  
  
"Because I asked him to pretend that Achilles McGonagall doesn't exist. See, when I left home, I changed my name so that Mom, Dad and the Hogwarts Sisters couldn't find me and force me to quit my job and go home. That is also the reason why I decided to live here. Plymouth is miles away from the Ministry, my old home and Hogwarts. Of course, if anyone asks the Auror Headquarters about Achilles McGonagall, they will not find out anything, because he doesn't exist. Philip also promised me to keep quiet about my true identity. I always avoid the press when the Aurors are involved with something important so that my face will not appear on the newspaper. Looks like Philip didn't keep his promise, wait till I get him for it tomorrow......."  
  
Athena could finally read the inscription and went silent. The board read:  
  
Minerva Also known as Athena to the ancient Greeks. She is one of the most important goddesses in Rome. She is the Goddess of Wisdom, Warfare, and Art and Crafts. She is also a virgin goddess and the favourite child of Jupiter, king of the gods. She was born out of his head, fully grown and completely dressed in her armour. The owl has traditionally been considered wise because it was the bird of Minerva.  
  
"Here's your drink." called Achilles, putting a tall glass on his glass table, sitting down on a sofa and opening a can of Butterbeer for himself.  
  
Athena tore her eyes away from the board, went to Achilles, took her drink and sat down near him.  
  
"Okay, I will come straight to the point. Achilles, why don't you come home? Mom has forgiven you."  
  
Achilles snorted. "I don't need her forgiveness. Anyway, it should be the other way round and I have not forgiven her yet."  
  
"What has she done?" asked Athena tiredly, even through she had already known the answer.  
  
"She refused to let me be an Auror without a goddamn reason." snapped Achilles.  
  
"I know. She refuses to tell me the reason why either." Athena mumbled.  
  
Achilles finished his Butterbeer in one go. He took out a cigarette from his packet, lit it and put it in his mouth.  
  
"I can't believe that you actually smoke." said Athena in disgust.  
  
Achilles didn't respond.  
  
"Achilles!"  
  
Achilles took out his cigarette. "What?"  
  
Athena stared at him sternly.  
  
"Okay, okay......." said Achilles and extinguished his cigarette on an ashtray on a table beside the couch.  
  
"Mom will be upset if she sees you smoking."  
  
"Ha, as if she cares for my health." said Achilles as he sat back and rested his legs on the table.  
  
"She does care!" insisted Athena.  
  
"Yeah right. How long do you take to realise that you have a brother?"  
  
"18 years." Athena mumbled.  
  
"How did you find out?"  
  
"I found your old stuff in the attic."  
  
"How did Mom react when you first ask about me?"  
  
"I...... show her your old photo and she told me that she.....um, she wanted to tear it and that you have been dead for 20 years." said Athena quietly, feeling that her voice was getting smaller and smaller.  
  
Achilles jumped to his feet. "See? She doesn't bother about me at all! If she does, you would have known about me years ago!" he said loudly. "So to her, I have been dead for 20 years, huh? Well, she has been dead to me for 20 years too, you know!"  
  
"Achilles, don't be like that!" exclaimed Athena in horror and stood up.  
  
"I don't give a damn for her at all! She could get along fine without me!" Achilles continued when.........  
  
SNAP  
  
His sister slapped him across the face.  
  
Achilles was still for a while before he put his hand to his cheek.  
  
"You don't care because you heard nothing about her during these 19 years." said Athena as calmly as possible. "You may have known about Dad from the radio and the Daily Prophet but not Mom because she is not as famous as him. And she didn't exactly get along fine without you. She had suffered so much since you are gone."  
  
"What could have possibly happened to her?" asked Achilles with a sneer.  
  
"Quite a few. Let me tell you," Athena took a deep breath and started. "18 years ago, Mom nearly died from giving birth to me. All of us know that she is a witch but it is very difficult for a 53 year old woman to have a baby. She survived of course, but she is so weak after my birth that she lay in the school's hospital wing for weeks."  
  
Achilles turned his head and stared at her.  
  
"Mandy told me," said Athena. "Anyway, during my second year in Hogwarts, the Chamber of Secrets was opened once more. The Basilisk was out again, petrifying a cat and 4 students. Then Dad was suspended from the school for the time being. With him gone, the Muggle-borns won't stand a chance of living. Mom had to worry for me day and night, because my blood is not as pure as Draco Malfoy's. She had to watch over me for 24 hours, even though she is in danger herself since she is a Muggle-born. She didn't eat and sleep well for days so by the time Harry Potter finally killed the Basilisk and stopped Tom Riddle, the Slytherin heir, she nearly collapsed."  
  
"The worse part happens during my fifth year. You-Know-Who is back, Hogwarts is under the Ministry's control, Dad was replaced by Dolores Umbridge and the Slytherins practically controlled us with their stupid Inquisitorial Squad excuse. Of course, Mom is having the best time of her life making Umbridge's life hell when Dad is gone. Umbridge hates part- humans and she tried to get rid of Hagrid in the middle of the night during our Astronomy test. She sent a few people to get him and when Mom tried to stop them, they shot no fewer than four Stunners at her, straight in the chest."  
  
Achilles didn't say anything.  
  
"Madam Pomfrey couldn't heal her, her condition was too serious. In the end she was transferred to St. Mungo's. You should see my face during the morning she had been brought away. I was so miserable. Dad had gone to who- knows-where and Mom was in the hospital. The Hogwarts Sisters were the only ones I had left in school. Although they wanted to quit Hogwarts, they prevented themselves from doing so because if they quit, there will be no one else for me to go to and their students will suffer under Umbridge and the Slytherins even more."  
  
Achilles was still silent.  
  
"Mom lay in the hospital for quite a while. The Hogwarts Sisters and I couldn't even visit her because of Umbridge. When she discharged, she even had to use a walking stick for a few weeks. Four Stunners straight in the chest....... It is a miracle that she didn't die."  
  
Athena leaned forward and stared into her brother's eyes.  
  
"You can be there with her throughout all these incidents. But you weren't. Just because of an argument you had with her years ago."  
  
Athena held her brother's hand. "Achilles, come home and stay beside Mom so that you can be there with her when there's trouble."  
  
Achilles looked as if he was thinking; Athena thought she had convinced him when he removed her hand forcefully. "I can't. Mom will force me to quit my job. Being an Auror is my dream."  
  
"She won't."  
  
"What makes you think so?"  
  
"Is being an Auror more important than your family?" demanded Athena.  
  
"Yes." said Achilles but he was not looking at Athena.  
  
"So you won't come back for the sake of Mom?"  
  
"She is fine now, isn't she? Beside, I still don't know what her problem with Aurors is."  
  
"Forget about her reason, just come back!" begged Athena.  
  
"I will not go back!" said Achilles firmly and turned his back to her.  
  
Athena was still for a while before she said coldly, "Then to the hell with you."  
  
She went out of the door and slammed it shut. When she did, she saw Wellard standing there at the corridor.  
  
"Terrence? I thought you had gone back."  
  
"I want to, but then I thought maybe you want me to accompany you on the way back. Athena, I, um, heard the argument. Are you okay?" asked Wellard with concern.  
  
Athena blinked for a moment, sniffed a little and said weakly, "I-I'm o- okay........"  
  
And her blue eyes began to fill with tears.  
  
Wellard went slowly to her as she started to weep. "I can lend you my shoulder if you want to." he said softly and innocently.  
  
"He has changed, Terrence, he has changed........." said Athena sadly and without a word, she rested her head onto Wellard's chest.  
  
Automatically, Wellard put his arms around her and hugged her as she continued to cry. "It's okay, Athena, don't cry............"  
  
***  
  
When Athena left, Achilles stood there for a moment before he walked slowly to the statue of the goddess Minerva. He sighed and put his hand onto Minerva's free shoulder. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I can't go back."  
  
Then he went to his bedroom and lay on his bed. He sniffed and wiped his eyes with his hand. "Damn you, Achilles, don't cry. You are doing the right thing."  
  
At least he thought he was. 


	15. A Recap and Another Trap

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: I kept on borrowing Wellard, I can't help it, he is so adorable...  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, so you may find them familiar and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Furball: Thank you for reviewing! Don't worry; I updated my stories quite often. By the way, the links that you gave me are not working.  
  
Jestana: You will know soon why Minerva refuses to let Achilles to be an Auror.  
  
isabelle3: Yes, Athena is in Harry's circle of Gryffindor friends but I won't talk about that much in this story.  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 15: A Recap and Another Trap  
  
"I don't think he is my brother anymore. The one I had argued with just now is Richard Smith, a bad-tempered bastard who doesn't care for his mother no matter what, not Achilles McGonagall, the sweet boy who hugged his mother during his graduation day." said Athena flatly at the bar where she saw Achilles.  
  
Wellard didn't know what to do but to watch Athena drunk her fifth glass of apple rum.  
  
"How could that, that jerk......" Athena just groaned in frustration. "By the way, can you promise me not to tell Mom about today? I don't think she had forgiven Achilles yet."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Athena called the bartender for another glass.  
  
"No, Sir, she is joking, don't give her another glass!" called Wellard and turned to Athena. "Athena, I think you had enough. It is time for you to go home."  
  
"I don't want to." Athena mumbled sadly.  
  
"Come on, your parents will be worried," Wellard coaxed and tried to remove the glass from Athena's hand. "Come on."  
  
Athena sniffed, paid for her drinks, stood up and staggered slightly as she went. After a few steps, Wellard finally said, "Athena, want me to support you?"  
  
Athena shook her head and as she did, her ankles gave way and she landed neatly into Wellard's arms.  
  
***  
  
Ding dong  
  
Dumbledore opened the door and saw Wellard with his arm around Athena, trying to help her to stand and she had her left arm around his neck.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore? What are you doing here? I thought this is Professor McGonagall's house." asked Wellard in bewilderment.  
  
"I was just visiting Minerva," lied Dumbledore and looked at Athena in concern, who looked very sick. "What happened to Athena?"  
  
"She had drank too much of apple rum." said Wellard truthfully. "Professor, could I bring her into the house?"  
  
"Certainly." said Dumbledore and stepped aside as Wellard walked in, practically dragging Athena along.  
  
"By the way, you are........" Dumbledore tried to remember. "Terrence Wellard, right?"  
  
Wellard nodded, glad for a moment that Dumbledore remembered him.  
  
Until Athena threw up on the floor and part of his trousers.  
  
"AHHH!!" screamed Wellard at the sight.  
  
"Oh no." said Dumbledore.  
  
"Athena! Oh my goodness! What happened?" exclaimed Minerva when she came out from the kitchen to see what was going on.  
  
"Minerva, I'll carry Athena to her room. I suggest that you clean Mr Wellard's trousers." said Dumbledore calmly.  
  
Wellard handed Athena over to her father.  
  
"Oh shit, I'm so sorry, Terrence......" said Athena weakly as Dumbledore carried her in his arms and up the stairs.  
  
Wellard was too busily staring at his trousers to reply.  
  
"I'm so sorry about her actions.......Come here, Mr Wellard." said Minerva tiredly.  
  
"It's all right, Professor, I can clean it up myself........" said Wellard and searched his backpack for his wand. After a while, his white cheeks went pink. "Oops, I think I forget to bring my wand. Darn, Mr Pellew always tells me to carry my wand with me at all times..........."  
  
"Here, let me clean your trousers," said Minerva and took out her wand. "Stand up."  
  
Wellard did, Minerva said, "Scourgify.", cleaning up his trousers and the floor.  
  
"Thanks, Professor." said Wellard cheerfully.  
  
"No problem. By the way, are you Terrence Wellard?"  
  
"The one and only, Professor." said Wellard, nodding.  
  
"Ah, I have never seen you since you graduated! Look at you, you have grown so much!"  
  
Wellard grinned sheepishly. "Mr Pellew trained me well, Professor."  
  
"I shall remind myself to tell Professor Sprout.........wait a minute, did you just say Mr Pellew? As in Edward Pellew? The head of the Aurors Headquarters?"  
  
"Yeah." said Wellard slowly.  
  
"Are you an Auror too?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'm still new. I had just passed my Auror tests this year........" said Wellard when Minerva grasped him on the shoulders.  
  
"Then, then do you know an Auror named Achilles McGonagall?" she asked anxiously, looking at him with a worried look on her face.  
  
"Uh oh." thought Wellard. If he said yes, Achilles AND Athena killed him. But then again, Minerva would be quite pitiful if he said no.......  
  
"I don't know," he said finally. "That's lame, Terrence, really lame." he thought to himself.  
  
Minerva let go of his shoulders. "Oh." she said in a small voice.  
  
"Minerva, I think you better take care of Athena." said Dumbledore, walking down the stairs.  
  
Minerva blinked for a while before she answered, "Yes," and went up the stairs.  
  
"Come on, my boy, I think we need to talk." said Dumbledore softly and put his hand on Wellard's shoulder.  
  
***  
  
"Now, what exactly is going on?" asked Dumbledore as he and Wellard sat on the porch outside the house.  
  
Before Wellard could answer, Dumbledore suddenly frowned. "Ah! How silly of me. Do you want some tea?"  
  
"No, thank you." said Wellard politely, beginning to think that Dumbledore was behaving more like a host than a guest.  
  
"Well then, do you mind telling me what had happened?"  
  
"Hm........." said Wellard.  
  
"I won't tell anyone, if that's what you are worrying about." said Dumbledore kindly.  
  
"Hm, okay," said Wellard slowly. "This is about Professor McGonagall and her son, Achilles. Professor, do you know him?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "He's a good student, a very sweet, nice but playful boy. He even has his mother's temper."  
  
"I heard from Athena that he had an argument with Professor McGonagall and left home 20 years ago."  
  
Dumbledore sighed at the memory. "I heard it from Minerva, it was saddening."  
  
"Then Athena was born 2 years later and didn't know anything about Mr McGonagall until she found his old stuff in the attic."  
  
"Oh, that's how she got to know about Achilles." thought Dumbledore.  
  
"Professor McGonagall refused to tell Athena anything about her brother but she managed to find out the whole story, through what method I don't know, she didn't tell me. She wanted to find him but had no idea how to, until she saw him the day before yesterday in a bar at Helga Road."  
  
"What?" exclaimed Dumbledore. "Did I hear you correctly, Mr Wellard?"  
  
Wellard blinked at his action and nodded after a while. "That is right, she saw him in a bar. But he left quickly when Athena tried to talk to him. Yesterday she came to the Auror Headquarters to find him. She found out that Achilles registered under the name "Richard Smith" instead of "Achilles McGonagall" and went to live in Plymouth."  
  
"So that's why I can't find him." thought Dumbledore.  
  
"So today I accompany her to Plymouth to find Mr McGonagall. Unfortunately, things don't go so well after they met."  
  
"What do you mean, Mr Wellard?" asked Dumbledore in a worried tone. What could possibly go wrong between those two? If he remembered correctly, Achilles and Athena were very close.....  
  
"I heard them arguing in Mr McGonagall's apartment. It seem like Mr McGonagall does not want to come back home for his mother's sake because he still doesn't know her problem with Aurors and Athena is angry at him for that. So she drank 5 glass of apple rum to keep her mind off this."  
  
Dumbledore sighed.  
  
"Professor, do you mind not telling this to Professor McGonagall? Athena asked me not to tell her mother about this and I promised her."  
  
Dumbledore nodded slowly.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Hi Albus!" said a voice cheerfully and Wellard and Dumbledore turned to see the Hogwarts Sisters.  
  
"Ooo, who is this?" asked Mandy and said to the Hogwarts Sisters. "Ladies, looks like we have stranger here in our mist."  
  
Dumbledore chuckled while Wellard blushed.  
  
"Wait a minute, I know him! You are Terrence Wellard!" exclaimed Georgia.  
  
Wellard swallowed and nodded. "Yes, Professor. I'm. Very nice to meet you all."  
  
"Hello, I'm Madam Pomfrey, I'm sure you remember me......." started Poppy when Madam Hooch rushed forward.  
  
"And I am Madam Hooch, remember me? And you are.......a very nice-looking young man." She flirted.  
  
Wellard blushed deeper. "T-thank y-you." he stammered.  
  
"Oh, isn't he adorable?" exclaimed Mandy in delight. "By the way, where's Minerva?"  
  
"Upstairs, taking care of Athena." said Dumbledore flatly.  
  
"Athena? What happened to her?" asked Mandy in concern.  
  
Dumbledore told the Hogwarts Sisters everything Wellard had said.  
  
"That git! He is behaving like Percy Weasley!" said Mandy angrily.  
  
"I think it is my fault." said Poppy quietly. "It is entirely my fault why Minerva didn't let Achilles to be an Auror in the first place. Isn't it, Mandy?"  
  
"No it is not," said Mandy firmly. "Not really. It is because we are all too stubborn to tell Achilles the truth. That's why he is behaving like this."  
  
"You four took an oath not to tell because it was too painful to." Dumbledore pointed out.  
  
"See? That's my fault!" said Poppy hysterically.  
  
"No, it is not! What happened in 1953 is not your fault!" snapped Mandy. "So, Achilles refused to come back to this part of the country huh?"  
  
"That's right." said Dumbledore.  
  
"And he has Minerva's temper, it is impossible to reason with him.........hm......... oh well, looks like we had to force him back here to make up with Minerva. Come on, Hogwarts Sisters! Let's come back tomorrow to get Athena! I have an idea; let's do the same thing that Minerva did to me last time! Let's go to my house, I will explain everything......"  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters ran off.  
  
Wellard was still for a while before he asked Dumbledore, "Um, Hogwarts Sisters?"  
  
***  
  
"Look, Mandy, are we really going to do this?" asked Georgia uncertainly the next day on their way to Achilles's apartment (Athena led the way and they had checked from Wellard that Achilles was at home).  
  
Mandy nodded. "Hogwarts Sisters Rule no. 11......." she started.  
  
"We can't be afraid to do what we know we have to do." said all three of the Hogwarts Sisters.  
  
Athena just smiled. Mandy's plan sounded good, maybe Achilles would come home after that.  
  
***  
  
Ding Dong  
  
"Coming!" called a voice from inside and Achilles opened the door.  
  
"WOW!" cried the Hogwarts Sisters at Achilles's appearance.  
  
"Athena, you didn't tell us that Achilles has grown a moustache, now he looks like his father!" exclaimed Georgia.  
  
Achilles frowned. "Surprise, surprise, Mom's henchmen." he said before leaving the door.  
  
"Now that doesn't sound nice." said Poppy as the Hogwarts Sisters and Athena came in.  
  
Achilles didn't say anything and sit down on the couch.  
  
"You don't seem very surprised to see us." said Mandy.  
  
"Well, of course not, once Dad or Athena or Mom saw me somewhere, it is only the matter of time before you all comes swooping in."  
  
"Cool statue, reminds me of your Mom." said Mandy, looking at the statue of Minerva.  
  
"Take a seat." said Achilles.  
  
All of them sat down.  
  
"Now before you all started, ah, I have one thing to say, it's not going to work." said Achilles firmly.  
  
Mandy frowned. Achilles just gave a dry smile.  
  
"Listen, Achilles, no one on Earth and I mean no one understands better than us how silly your Mom is," Mandy ignored Achilles's raised eyebrows. "We are not here to disrupt that, she is as mad as a hatter and that is not going to change!"  
  
"Achilles, but your Mom is the way she is, if you really knew........." started Poppy.  
  
"I know that she refused to let me to be Auror for some stupid reason and that's enough!" snapped Achilles.  
  
"Don't you take that tone with her," said Mandy dangerously. "You want to get all scrappy, you have to deal with me."  
  
"That is just it!" exclaimed Achilles. "I don't want to get all scrappy! I am sick of fighting! And I am sick to death to this........." he paused and frowned again. "Wait a minute, did Mom send you?"  
  
"Are you out of your mind?" asked Mandy in horror.  
  
"She will skin us alive if she knows we are here." said Poppy.  
  
"We told her that we were going to a pub and you know your mother, she quitted drinking years ago so she didn't come along." said Georgia.  
  
Achilles was silent.  
  
"Well, looks like you really don't want to go back........." said Poppy quietly.  
  
"See, I told you three so." said Athena.  
  
"The point is, Achilles........." started Mandy and Achilles looked at her. "We are starving. So help us if you let us take you out to dinner, we will get on the last train tonight, no question asked."  
  
Achilles asked slowly: "Really?"  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters and Athena nodded.  
  
***  
  
At a small bar near Wisdom Street, the Hogwarts Sisters and the Dumbledore children sat together at a small table waiting for their food.  
  
"Why are they taking so long to prepare the food?" asked Achilles impatiently and looked at his watch.  
  
Mandy winked at Athena.  
  
"Bro, where is the bathroom?" asked Athena.  
  
"Over there." said Achilles, pointed at the far end of the room.  
  
"It's too far, can you bring me there?" said Athena.  
  
"Okay, okay......" said Achilles and got up from his seat.  
  
When both Athena and Achilles were gone, Mandy took out a pink packet from her pocket.  
  
"Wait, what is it?" asked Georgia.  
  
"I got it from the Weasley twins this morning, it is a "Roofie" or something........they said it would knock him on his ass."  
  
"No! Roofies! That is a Muggle date-rape drug, we can't do that!" protested Poppy.  
  
"Then what? We can't conk him on the head!" said Mandy loudly as she opened the packet. "He has Minerva's blood, he can take it."  
  
"Hurry up, here he comes!" cried Georgia.  
  
Mandy poured the powder in and it dissolved immediately.  
  
"Sheesh, it didn't work, the food didn't come." said Achilles as he and Athena sat down.  
  
Mandy grinned a little at Athena as Achilles took his drink and drunk it.  
  
"Yuck, the drink tastes bitterer than just now............." said Achilles and frowned. "Wait a minute, is it just me or the place is getting haz.........."  
  
THUD  
  
Mandy checked whether Achilles was really knocked out cold and when she was satisfied, she gave the Hogwarts Sisters and Athena a high-five.  
  
"Good job, the Goddess Artemis will be proud of us........"  
  
***  
  
Achilles opened his eyes and yawned. He rolled over on his bed and checked the time beside his bed.  
  
The Golden Snitch shape clock showed the time "10.30am".  
  
Well, it was only 10.30am..........wait a minute, the Golden Snitch clock?! What the hell was it doing here in his apartment at Plymouth? He remembered that it was put in his bedroom in the...........  
  
He sat up and yelled, "NO!"  
  
He groaned and clutched his head as it hurts painfully. "Oh my head......" he moaned and yelled again: "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU WOMEN?!" 


	16. Voldemort's Plan and Betrayal

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the Aurors come from "Hornblower"  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, so you may find them familiar and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 16: Voldemort's plan and Betrayal  
  
Before we see what is Achilles yelling about, let's take a look at what You- Know-Who is up to......  
  
"Wormtail, come over here." said Voldemort in the Riddle House.  
  
"Yes, Master?" asked Wormtail in a small voice.  
  
"When do the Easter holidays end in Hogwarts?"  
  
"Just a few days more, Master. What are you planning to do, Master?" asked Wormtail timidly.  
  
"I am going to attack Hogwarts."  
  
"Brilliant, Master, brilliant! But how?" asked Wormtail before Voldemort turned his head sharply from the window and glared at him.  
  
"Don't ask so many questions, Wormtail." he growled.  
  
"Yes, Master, sorry, Master........." said Wormtail quickly.  
  
"But I can only tell you this. I am going to give those Mudbloods and Mudblood-lovers a very, very big surprise. They will never know that I, Lord Voldemort, will use this method to punish them all. Looks like growing up in a Muggle orphanage does have its advantages...... Tell me, Wormtail, which of my followers' children are in Hogwarts?"  
  
"Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle.........." Wormtail counted, listing almost all the Slytherins' parents out.  
  
Voldemort clicked his tongue impatiently. "That's enough. You might as well say that all my followers' children are in Hogwarts." he thought deeply for a moment. "Come, Wormtail, I am going to hold a parent-conference......."  
  
****  
  
Back to Achilles.......  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU WOMEN?!"  
  
Downstairs in the Dumbledores' summer house, the Hogwarts Sisters looked up the ceiling from their breakfast as Achilles continued cursing at the top of his lungs.  
  
"Sounds like Sleeping Prince Charming is up." said Mandy coolly.  
  
"Sleeping Tiger, more like. I am going to make him some coffee....." said Poppy as she got up from the seat.  
  
"I am going to see him." said Georgia.  
  
"I'm coming with you." Mandy said as she took another bite of her toast.  
  
***  
  
"I have work to do in Ministry, I have a.....ouch, a headache......" said Achilles as he clutched his head again.  
  
"Stop yelling, you are going to tear the house down with your yells." said Mandy when she arrived at the door.  
  
Achilles got out of the bed and glared at Mandy and Georgia. "Listen up this minute, okay? I am not a child, I am a grown man, with a life a thousand miles away from here. And I am going back to it right now."  
  
Poppy came up to the room, heard Achilles and said, "I'm making you coffee. Don't you love my coffee?"  
  
"Yes, your coffee is the......." Achilles frowned when he realised what he was saying. "Wait, don't change the topic! What I want to know is, what the hell do you think you are doing?"  
  
"A Hogwarts Sisters' mission of mercy, pal." said Mandy simply.  
  
"An intervention." added Poppy before she left for downstairs.  
  
"Why me?" asked Achilles when Poppy left. "Mom is the one that needs the help!"  
  
"Not exactly, you need help too," corrected Mandy. "You have a long life ahead of you. You shouldn't spend your entire life in anger and resentment."  
  
Achilles's frown deepened. "I'm not angry!" he snapped. "The only resentment I feel is you all thinks that you have the right to disrupt my entire life.........."  
  
"He is getting as long-winded as Minerva," said Mandy to Georgia and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's leave him alone." suggested Georgia.  
  
And they left Achilles yelling: ".......when all I did is to become an Auror!"  
  
Then Achilles rubbed his head and grabbing a shelf for support. "Hold on, I'm spinning......."  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, in the Auror Headquarters......  
  
"Sir." said Wellard politely to Pellew.  
  
"Yes, Mr Wellard?"  
  
"Mr Smith send his apologies, Sir, he said that he could not come to the Headquarters until further notice." said Wellard slowly.  
  
Pellew frowned. "Did he give any reason?" he demanded.  
  
Wellard shook his head quickly. "He just says that it is personal."  
  
Pellew sighed heavily. "Very well, Mr Wellard, when you see him, tell him to get his things done as quickly as possible. Now is the second war against Voldemort (Wellard winced as he heard the name) period and I do not wish to have my men away from work for a long time."  
  
"Yes Sir." said Wellard.  
  
As he did, Kennedy came running to them, waved hello to Wellard and nodded politely to Pellew. "Mr Pellew, you are required in Mr Edrington's cubicle, Sir, it's urgent."  
  
"Very well, I will come," said Pellew seriously and turned to Wellard. "I can't hold you here any longer. You have the afternoon off, am I right?"  
  
Wellard nodded.  
  
"Have a good day then." said Pellew and went off towards Edrington's cubicle.  
  
As he did, Wellard sighed.  
  
"Hey, what is all the sighing about?" asked Kennedy as he ruffled Wellard's brown hair. "I thought you are happy to have an afternoon off. You should be, almost all the senior Aurors are working like hell here."  
  
"Nothing, just that........" he sighed again.  
  
"Oh, stop sighing and tell me, Terrence." said Kennedy.  
  
"Tell you what?" asked Hornblower as he passed by.  
  
"Nothing." said Wellard immediately.  
  
"Yeah right," said Kennedy sarcastically. "Horatio, Terrence has been sighing."  
  
"Sighing? What's wrong?" asked Hornblower in concern.  
  
"Just that I didn't get know what's going on in here much." said Wellard quietly.  
  
"Oh!" said Kennedy loudly. "It's normal. When I first arrived here, I often got left out of things but I got involved with more and more excited cases when I am older."  
  
"Murders, kidnap, Death-Eaters......" Hornblower counted.  
  
"So far Mr Pellew only let me to handle minor cases." grumbled Wellard.  
  
"Because you are too young for major and important cases." said Kennedy.  
  
"Thanks for a lot for reminding me!" snapped Wellard.  
  
"Whoa, chill, Terrence, chill. Archie doesn't mean to say that," said Hornblower. "Just wait, you will get to handle big cases when you are older.  
  
"By the way, Terrence, don't you think that you should be off? It's already 12.30 pm." asked Kennedy as he looked at his watch.  
  
"Oh no! Athena is waiting for me! I must go, bye!" said Wellard and rushed to the exit.  
  
Hornblower frowned. "Athena?"  
  
Kennedy sighed in envy. "It's good to be young."  
  
"And single." added Hornblower.  
  
***  
  
Back to the Dumbledores' summer house............  
  
Achilles came down the stairs a few minute later and saw the Hogwarts Sisters sitting at a table, talking. He sighed, marched to them and slammed his hands on the table.  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters stopped talking.  
  
"I don't care if you three are staying here, I am going back home myself." growled Achilles.  
  
"Sorry, Honey, you can't." said Mandy.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"You can't disapparate, the Floo Network is not for transport but communication only and the Knight Bus doesn't come here, not even if you hold out your wand hand."  
  
"Oh no, you can't do this to me! I didn't tell the Head of the Auror Headquarters that I will be absent......." said Achilles.  
  
"We have taken care of that. We asked Terrence Wellard to tell your Head that you would be absent until further notice for personal reasons," said Mandy. "Such an obedient boy......."  
  
"For how long?" asked Achilles in horror.  
  
"Well, we told Athena that we would only hold you for less than a week....." started Poppy.  
  
"W-wait a minute, Athena knows that I'm here?!" asked Achilles and the Hogwarts Sisters nodded.  
  
Achilles threw up his arms in frustration. "Has everyone betrayed me or something? First, Philip Edrington told Athena my address, then Athena drugged me......."  
  
"Not exactly, she lured you away from the table and I put the drug in." interrupted Mandy.  
  
"Whatever. And now Terrence Wellard report to Mr Pellew that I would be absent without my consent!"  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters didn't respond.  
  
"I am going to talk to Athena." said Achilles and walked towards the fireplace.  
  
"You go right ahead, we will leave you alone," said Mandy. "But we will be listening from the kitchen so talk loud."  
  
Achilles snorted as he crouched down in front of the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo powder, put his head in, threw the powder and called out the Dumbledores' address.  
  
After a while, he saw the familiar living room that he used to live. There were no pictures of him on the wall at all, just pictures of Athena, Minerva and Dumbledore. Achilles brushed the odd feeling in his chest aside and called softly in case his parents were around, "Athena?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Athena?" he asked, louder this time.  
  
He heard giggling, then his sister saying: "Good thing that you arrive on time, Mom and Dad just left for the meeting..........."  
  
"ATHENA!" roared Achilles, knowing that his parents were gone.  
  
He saw a pair of legs running to the living room.  
  
"Come here!' demanded Achilles.  
  
Athena came to the fireplace and squatted down. "Hi Bro, how are you feeling?"  
  
Achilles softened at his sister's voice. "A little disoriented." he said softly.  
  
"Hey, maybe Poppy has some potions to cure hangovers."  
  
Achilles frowned. "I can't believe you let them do this. By the way, where are Mom and Dad?"  
  
"Out for an Order of the Phoenix meeting. I am not allowed to go."  
  
"Listen," Achilles leaned forward a little. "I'm going to try and bust out tomorrow, I'm going to get back to work."  
  
"Don't rush back to work. I think maybe you ought to fix this thing with Mom once and for all." said Athena.  
  
"Why are you so worried about this?" asked Achilles as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"Of course I am, who won't want to see their family members make up?"  
  
"But there is some other ways beside this!"  
  
"Yeah right," said Athena sarcastically. "Anyway, the Hogwarts Sisters may be nuts, but they might know something you don't."  
  
Achilles didn't say anything.  
  
"Stay there. Deal with it." advised Athena.  
  
Achilles sighed in annoyance when he heard someone at Athena's side yelling, "Athena, hurry up!"  
  
Athena called, "Coming!"  
  
"Who's there?" asked Achilles.  
  
"Terrence."  
  
"Wait a minute, Terrence? As in Terrence Wellard?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What the hell is he doing there?!" demanded Achilles.  
  
"Is that Mr McGonagall? Tell him that Mr Pellew wants him to get his things done as soon as possible!" called Wellard. "And tell him that I say hello!"  
  
"Hear that?" asked Athena.  
  
"Yeah!" yelled Achilles. "Anyway, you have not answered my question yet."  
  
"He is here to accompany me. Mom and Dad are getting too busy with the Order so he decided to come here."  
  
"Doesn't he have anything to do in the Auror Headquarters?!" he asked, loud enough for Wellard to hear.  
  
"He is just a junior; the Headquarters don't need him much." said Athena airily.  
  
"Why Terrence? Why not your school friends?"  
  
"Oh well, Hermione is busy with school work, Harry is definitely out of the question, Ron is too busy with Quidditch, I don't go to Neville's when his grandmother is looking at me like a hawk and I got tired with the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes and the Woods'."  
  
"Do your homework then." suggested Achilles.  
  
"I have already finished my homework."  
  
Achilles growled. "Hey Wellard, don't touch my baby sister, you hear me, boy?!"  
  
"He is no boy! He is already 22 years old!" protested Athena. "Anyway, I won't let him touch me! Not if I can help it." she added and grinned.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Okay, I have enough talking with you. I'm going kite-flying with Terrence! Isn't this great? I have not been to kite-flying since I was 9! And tomorrow, we are going to the beach........."  
  
Achilles's mouth fell open as he pictured his sister in a swimsuit and Wellard applying sun-block on her back. "Hey, I don't allow you two to go the beach!"  
  
"Too late! Dad and Mom allow me to go out with Terrence, since Mon is in love with Dad when she was 17 herself. So there!" said Athena and struck out her tongue at her brother.  
  
"Oh come on, Sis, he is too old for you!" said Achilles.  
  
"Tell that to Mom when she is in love with Dad. Terrence and I are just friends. Okay, maybe a bit more than friends........"  
  
"But........"  
  
"Bro, since when did you care for your sister? You left this house 20 years ago and didn't give a damn about us. Lecture me when you have made up with Mom, okay?" said Athena tiredly.  
  
Achilles was speechless with shock.  
  
"I am coming, Terrence." said Athena and turned back to Achilles. "I got to go." she said and she stood up.  
  
"Athena, Athena, hey!" called Achilles.  
  
Athena didn't look back.  
  
Achilles sighed and redrew his head from the fireplace. Once he did, he saw the Hogwarts Sisters standing behind him.  
  
"Oh, Terrence Wellard, huh?" asked Georgia.  
  
"Athena Wellard.......not bad." said Mandy, who was holding a can of pumpkin juice, and grinned.  
  
"Leave me alone." said Achilles as he got up.  
  
He walked for a few steps, stopped beside Mandy, snatched her can and walked away with it.  
  
"Thief." Mandy managed to say after a while.  
  
"What's with him?" asked Poppy.  
  
Nobody answered. 


	17. The Confession and the Scrapbook

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the Aurors come from "Hornblower"  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, so you may find them familiar and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Jestana: You will know everything in the next chapter  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 17: The confession and the scrapbook  
  
"Terrence, I am sorry about my brother." said Athena apologetically at a park where she and Wellard were kite-flying.  
  
"It's okay," said Wellard as he tugged at the kite string. "Look at it go!" he said cheerfully as the kite went higher.  
  
Athena smiled. Wellard behaved like a kid sometimes, even though he was already 22 years old.  
  
"Anyway, I don't mind that Mr McGonagall said that. He yells because he cares." said Wellard.  
  
Athena couldn't help but rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. If he cares, he wouldn't have left his family years ago."  
  
Wellard didn't say anything else until he sat down beside Athena, with the string still in his hand. "Athena?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"Thank you for speaking up for me." said Wellard sincerely.  
  
Athena blushed. "That was nothing."  
  
"But did you do that? You don't have to, you know." asked Wellard curiously.  
  
Athena blushed deeper. "Because, hm, ah, err........"  
  
Wellard tilted his head to one side as he still trying to get an answer.  
  
"I.....err....." continued Athena.  
  
Wellard smiled, his head continued to tilt.  
  
"Hm......"  
  
"It's all right, you can tell me when you are ready." said Wellard finally when he found that Athena couldn't say anything. He stopped tilting his head and stared at the empty space ahead of him.  
  
"Hm, ok......." said Athena quietly. "Athena, you coward, why don't you tell him that you like him?" she thought angrily.  
  
"Athena, can you help me on something?" asked Wellard suddenly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I like a girl but I don't know how to confess to her." said Wellard nervously.  
  
"Really?" asked Athena, her heart sinking fast.  
  
"I can ask Mr Edrington but I am not very close to him. Mr McGonagall and Mr Bush don't even have girlfriends, Mr Kennedy changes his girlfriends as fast as he changes his robes everyday and I am sure that his method doesn't work with me, Mr Hornblower doesn't even have a chance to confess because he was forced to marry. So I decided to ask you, because you are, hm, most suitable person to talk to."  
  
"What am I? A love adviser?" asked Athena in amusement. "Oh well, he is too old for me anyway......."  
  
"Hm, sort of." said Wellard, his white cheeks went pink.  
  
"What is she like?"  
  
Wellard stared at Athena before he said, "Well, she is tall....."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Has long auburn hair."  
  
"Long auburn hair....."  
  
"Blue eyes."  
  
"Blue eyes," Athena noted. "Now that's sounds familiar......." she thought.  
  
"And she is," Wellard took a deep breath. "Sitting right beside me."  
  
"Sitting right........." Athena stopped and turned her head sharply to Wellard.  
  
Wellard had a serious look on his face, looking as if he was waiting for a death sentence.  
  
Wordlessly, Athena pointed at herself.  
  
Wellard just nodded.  
  
Athena's mouth dropped open.  
  
***  
  
"I can't imagine I will see this place again." said Achilles in disgust as he stared gloomily through his bedroom window to the swimming pool.  
  
Memories of the Hogwarts Sisters and his family playing at the pool began to flood back to Achilles's mind...........  
  
***  
  
1975  
  
Minerva and Poppy were found sitting at the two wooden collapsible chairs and drank pumpkin juice beside the pool. Then young Achilles and Mandy jumped into the pool without warning, drenching Minerva and Poppy wet. Dumbledore shook his head, grinning as he watched his wife screaming herself hoarse at Achilles and Mandy. Georgia, on the hand, was too busily examining the blue roses on the rose bushes near the pool to notice anything.  
  
"Oh, Achilles, Mandy, I hate you two when you do that!" screeched Minerva, sounding like a 5 year-old girl.  
  
"Jump in, Minerva, the water is great!" said Mandy.  
  
"I would like to be dry, thanks." said Minerva, beginning to sound like herself again.  
  
"Minerva is a scaredly cat~~~" sang Mandy.  
  
"No I am not," said Minerva firmly. "I am just doing what I want, remain dry."  
  
Dumbledore sneaked up behind Minerva and put his finger to his lips. Mandy and Achilles grinned and they swam back.  
  
"Oh come on, Mommy, you will love it." said Achilles after he turned around.  
  
"No."  
  
"Oh yes." said Dumbledore beside Minerva's ear and pushed her from behind.  
  
"AAHHH!!!"  
  
SPLASH  
  
Georgia finally turned around from the bushes and found Minerva in the water. "Minerva, I thought that you don't like swimming!"  
  
Minerva ignored the Herbology professor.  
  
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!!!!!!" She shrieked.  
  
***  
  
2004  
  
A loud excited cry filled the air, snapping Achilles out of his thoughts. He turned around and immediately, someone hugged him around the waist.  
  
"Young Master is back! Dilly is been waiting for you for a long time! When the Hogwarts Sisters told Dilly that Young Master is back, Dilly is not believe it!"  
  
"Dilly?" asked Achilles in amazement.  
  
"It is Dilly, Young Master," said the house-elf before she removed herself from Achilles. Her big eyes were filled with tears. "Dilly misses you very much, Young Master," she examined Achilles closely. "Young Master is changed a lot after 20 years."  
  
"Yeah I know." said Achilles and grinned.  
  
"You is beginning to look like Master himself!"  
  
Achilles groaned. "Oh great, don't remind me. Maybe I should shave off my moustache........"  
  
"No, Young Master, don't do that! Dilly is very sorry to say that! Dilly will bang her head on the wall as a punishment......" said Dilly quickly and marched straight to a solid wall.  
  
"Dilly, no!" said Achilles frantically and reached out to grab Dilly's shoulders.  
  
"Dilly is to, Young Master!" said Dilly seriously.  
  
"No, I will, err, give you another punishment!" said Achilles, thinking that banging a head as a punishment was a little too much.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Hm, just pull your ears for an hour." said Achilles, as that was the simplest punishment he could think of.  
  
"Yes, Young Master." said Dilly and pulled her ears immediately.  
  
"By the way, how's Thunder?" asked Achilles curiously.  
  
"Very well, Young Master, it is now in the stable." said Dilly.  
  
"Good, I will go and visit him," said Achilles happily. "Stand there for an hour."  
  
"Yes, Young Master."  
  
***  
  
Achilles went into the stable and he saw Thunder the unicorn standing there, chewing on something.  
  
"Thunder?"  
  
Thunder turned his head to Achilles. For a moment he didn't do anything. Then he turned around fully and walked slowly towards Achilles.  
  
"It is me, Thunder, Achilles." said Achilles slowly.  
  
The unicorn stared at him and he stared back, trying hard not to blink. It was like staring at a Hippogriff. Two seconds later, Thunder rubbed his long face against Achilles's as a sign of affection.  
  
Achilles smiled and patted Thunder's neck. "Good boy."  
  
***  
  
Achilles came back into the house an hour later after a ride with Thunder and found Mandy and Georgia in kitchen, playing cards. Poppy was nowhere in sight.  
  
"Where is Poppy?" asked Achilles.  
  
"Gone home," said Georgia, without looking up. "Let's see, I need a Queen........"  
  
"What?" exclaimed Achilles.  
  
"HA! I win! Pay up." said Mandy, ignoring Achilles and holding out her palm at Georgia.  
  
"Don't you two need to go home?" snapped Achilles.  
  
Mandy and Georgia looked at each other before they said, "No."  
  
Achilles rolled his eyes and looked around the place, trying to find something to do. He saw a big, red book on a small table and curiously, he walked to it.  
  
The book had the golden words "Empress Singing Flower" on it. It looked thick and seems to have loads of things stuffed in it.  
  
"What is this?" asked Achilles.  
  
"Poppy's scrapbook," said Mandy, putting down her cards. "Each Hogwarts Sisters has a scrapbook and each of them is different."  
  
"She lent it to us. There is something in there that might," Georgia paused. "Makes you feel different to what you feel about Mrs Minerva McGonagall Dumbledore." She said Dumbledore's name in a whisper.  
  
"I don't care if she abducted by leprechauns, okay? I just want to get out of here!" said Achilles loudly.  
  
Mandy frowned and said, "You want out? We will give you the ticket out of here once you have gone through it and listen to a story."  
  
Without any more questions, Achilles opened it immediately and he saw a photo of Poppy in her teens. On the top were the handwritten pink words: "Empress Singing Flower" and the below were the words "Poppy Pomfrey (Potter)" The word "Potter" was written by someone else.  
  
Achilles flipped the next page and saw a photo of the Hogwarts Sisters in their Hogwarts robes with the castle as their background. Below the unmoving photo were the words: "Me and my Hogwarts Sisters"  
  
"Oh my God, look how young you all are." said Achilles in awe.  
  
Mandy and Georgia came over and they went "aww" at the photo.  
  
"We took that during our first year. Since then it was camera mania between the Hogwarts Sisters, some of the teachers were so annoying with us taking photos in class all the time. Dumbledore doesn't mind through."  
  
The next page had photos of Poppy in school. There was one of Poppy on a broomstick, looking rather sick and the caption "I hate flying"  
  
There was one with Poppy staring at a light blue potion in a bottle with the caption "Nice colour........"  
  
There was one with Poppy with her wand out and a matchstick on the table with the caption "Come on, turn into a needle, will you?"  
  
There was one with Poppy with her wand out, she had her hand over her mouth. Beside her, a book was burning and Minerva was slapping it with her hat frantically. The caption said: "Sorry, Minerva! I didn't mean to!"  
  
There was a lot more, Achilles began to have interest in the scrapbook and started to scan every page before flipping it to the next page. He saw a lot of people that he didn't recognize until Mandy and Georgia told him. He saw photos of 25 year-old Dumbledore and young Minerva and realized that everyone was right; he did look like his father. And Athena was like an exact copy of their mother. Soon he arrived to a page that was labelled as "My Graduation Day at Hogwarts *sniffs*". A large photo of the Gryffindor 7th years students were standing in the Great Hall in their graduation robes was shown.  
  
Achilles turned a page and saw a photo of the young Hogwarts Sisters in costumes, Minerva in a helmet and armour, with a spear and shield in her hands. Mandy dressed herself as a Red Indian; she was wearing a black wig and had a feather in her hair. She had blue, red and white stripes on her face and she was carrying a bow and arrow. Poppy was wearing a 17th century evening gown. Her dress was long and elegant. Her ash-blond hair was curly (Achilles thought that she had permed it) and was tied up. She had a white fluffy fan in her hand. Georgia dressed up as a Muggle nurse, with a white uniform, cap and shoes.  
  
"What in hell?" asked Achilles, pointing at the photo.  
  
"Oh, that was just a photo of us in a costume ball during Halloween." said Mandy.  
  
"You are joking." Achilles muttered.  
  
"No! Robert Lupin invited us!" said Georgia.  
  
Achilles looked in amusement at a photo of Dumbledore and his male students. Dumbledore dressed up as a king. He had a crown, armour and a long sword. Jonathan Wood dressed up as another Red Indian, just that he had a lot more feathers in his hair than Mandy's. William Potter dressed as a 17 century Army officer; he looked wonderful in his hat, breeches, red uniform and high boots. He even had a gun in his belt and a Rapier beside him. Nicholas Longbottom dressed up as Muggle policeman. Joe Black dressed up as the Muggle detective Sherlock Holmes. He was looking at the ceiling with his eyes narrowed with suspicion as he sucked on his pipe. Robert Lupin dressed up as a Greek; he had white robes and simple sandals. Don Weasley dressed as a modern Navy officer.  
  
Achilles flipped to the next page and found loads of photos of Poppy and William. In some of them, William had his arm around Poppy's shoulders. In one of them, William and Poppy were dancing and in another, Poppy was giggling as William kissed her neck.  
  
Achilles went pink at that photo and quickly turned the page. He saw a big photo of William Potter in his official Auror robes. Back then, the robes were black and had a golden pin with the letter "A". William looked proud and handsome.  
  
"Wow," Achilles whistled. "I didn't know that William Potter was an Auror."  
  
"That is why you are here, Honey, to know what you didn't know," said Mandy softly. "Achilles, William is the part of reason why your mother doesn't want you to be an Auror."  
  
"Huh? I don't get it," said Achilles. "What does William Potter get to do with the argument?"  
  
Mandy and Georgia sighed sadly.  
  
Wordlessly, Mandy reached out and flipped to the next page. Achilles saw a black card on it and had words in white:  
  
Mr and Mrs Eric Potter have sadly invited you to the funeral of their beloved son, William Potter (1933-1953).  
  
5th of July 1953  
  
10am  
  
Victoria Church  
  
Please make an effort to come  
  
Thank you  
  
"That," said Mandy, pointing at the card. "Is the cause of everything." 


	18. 1953

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the Aurors come from "Hornblower"  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, so you may find them familiar and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Jestana- *sad sigh* Unfortunately, the happiness couldn't last long. And yes, William is killed in action (see "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood" Chapter 15)  
  
Isabelle3, PrincessWitch- Thank you!  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 18: 1953  
  
"That is the cause of everything?" asked Achilles.  
  
Mandy nodded. "Are you ready to hear the whole story?"  
  
Achilles nodded slowly.  
  
Mandy and Georgia sat down.  
  
Mandy cleared her throat and started. "Let's see..... where shall I start? Hm....." she thought for a while. "Okay, the whole thing started in 1953, a few days before Poppy's 20th birthday..........."  
  
***  
  
1953  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters were in Poppy's bedroom, talking and laughing over Albus and Minerva's wedding album.  
  
"Look at this one!" said Mandy, pointing at a photo of Minerva in her wedding dress. "You look gorgeous."  
  
"That one? Nah, I look ridiculous," said Minerva in disgust. "I look like a clown with a little mascara."  
  
"No, you don't!" protested Poppy when her mother came in.  
  
"Poppy, William is at the door."  
  
"He is? At this time of the night?" asked Poppy and looked at the clock, it was already 11pm.  
  
"He says it is important." said her mother.  
  
"Okay, I am coming." said Poppy and got up from the bed.  
  
"Maybe he wants to ask for your hand!" teased Mandy and lowered her voice to imitate William's voice. "Oh Poppy, will you be my dear Mrs. Potter?"  
  
Poppy blushed in response and threw a pillow at her direction. Mandy caught it neatly.  
  
"Ha! I save it!"  
  
Poppy quickly rushed out and Mandy said to the Hogwarts Sisters, "Let's go and see some fun!"  
  
***  
  
"Okay, William, is there something you want?" Poppy asked William as they sat together on a long chair in the garden.  
  
Minerva, Mandy and Georgia were hiding in the bushes behind the chair, listening. William put his arm over Poppy's shoulders and held her closer.  
  
"There is something I have to tell you." said William seriously.  
  
Mandy giggled and Minerva tried to shut her up by poking her in the ribs. Mandy continued to giggle silently.  
  
"Hm, what?" Poppy asked quietly.  
  
"You know that I am working as an Auror, right?"  
  
Mandy stopped giggling, looks like William was not proposing.  
  
"Yeah, but I can't say that I like that," said Poppy grumpily. "You are always so busy in the Ministry."  
  
"Oh." said William slowly.  
  
"Yeah? So what about it?" asked Poppy.  
  
"Well, I need to go to Russia to........"  
  
"RUSSIA?!" said Poppy and jumped up from the chair.  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters gasped in surprise but thankfully, they were not loud enough for Poppy to hear.  
  
"You can't go to Russia!" exclaimed Poppy and started pacing.  
  
"But I have to! Some dark wizards have escaped to there and the Head decided to send me and a few Aurors to catch them......."  
  
"Can't the Head send someone else?" asked Poppy hysterically. She stopped pacing and she sat back down. "Why are you leaving me?" She hit William's chest hard with her fist and he didn't respond. She went silent. After a while, she whispered: "Why can't you stay here and love me?"  
  
"I am sorry, Poppy. But it is an order." said William quietly.  
  
Poppy didn't say anything.  
  
William reached out and held her hand. "Poppy, are you okay?"  
  
Poppy shook her head. "No, I am not. My heart is breaking into a thousand pieces, happy?"  
  
"Oh come on, Poppy, you think I like to leave you?" asked William in shock. "I would rather stay here if it isn't an order."  
  
"You will die there," said Poppy and looked at William with tears in her eyes. "Don't go, William, it is too dangerous for you."  
  
"Poppy, I assure you that I won't die of this kind of thing." said William and grinned.  
  
Poppy didn't return the grin. Instead, she asked, "Will you come back?"  
  
"I will," said William and let go of Poppy's hand.  
  
Before Poppy could stop him, William got up and raised his right hand. "I swear to the Goddess Artemis that I, William Potter, the suitor of Empress Singing Flower, also known as Poppy Pomfrey, will come back immediately after my mission in Russia."  
  
He sat back down.  
  
"How about that?"  
  
Poppy couldn't help but smile. "You are an idiot, swearing to the Goddess like that. Do you know that the Hogwarts Sisters will punish you if you break your promise deliberately?"  
  
"Let them, I deserve it."  
  
His expression went serious.  
  
"Poppy, I swear to the Goddess again, that when I come back, I will ask for your hand in marriage."  
  
Poppy blushed deeply. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Do I look like I am joking?"  
  
"No........"  
  
Without warning, William leaned forward and captured Poppy's lips with his, putting his arms around her. Poppy responded and ran her fingers through his brown hair as the kiss went deeper.  
  
Minerva's eyes widened, Georgia's mouth dropped open and Mandy took out her pocket watch.  
  
When they finally came up for air, Mandy whispered: "Five seconds, now that's a long one."  
  
Minerva just stared at Mandy in annoyance.  
  
"What?"  
  
The couple smiled at each other and William let Poppy to sit on his lap. He put his arms around her waist again.  
  
"By the way, I am sorry if I can't make it back in time for your birthday." whispered William.  
  
"It is okay, as long as you come back." said Poppy.  
  
"Oh yeah, before I forgot, I bought you a gift, in case I can't come back." said William and put his hand into his pocket, his other arm still didn't let go of Poppy.  
  
He pulled out a long flat box and handed it to Poppy. "Here."  
  
She took it and opened it immediately. "Wow," she took out a pin entwined with two serpents.  
  
"I think it suits you. This is the symbol of health, right?"  
  
Poppy smiled again. "Thank you."  
  
She put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.  
  
***  
  
2004  
  
"And he didn't come back?" asked Achilles quietly.  
  
Mandy sighed. "No. We received the news on William's death during Poppy's birthday. It was said that he was killed by a dark wizard. At first, Poppy didn't believe it, but she did after a while. A few days later, we attended William's funeral, and we noticed that she looked pale. Mrs Pomfrey told us that she refuses to eat since her birthday. The next day, we tried to visit her but she didn't want to see anyone."  
  
"The worse part happened a month later after William's death." said Georgia.  
  
"What happened?" asked Achilles curiously.  
  
Mandy was silent for a while before she started talking again.  
  
***  
  
1953  
  
Mandy was at home, listening to the WWN to the radio when someone called her from the fireplace. She got up, turned off the radio quickly and went to the speaker. It was Mrs Pomfrey.  
  
"Mandy, you better come to my house immediately." she said urgently.  
  
"What happened?" asked Mandy anxiously.  
  
"Poppy, she is not herself. I will talk more later." said Mrs Pomfrey before her head disappeared into the fire.  
  
"Oh I hope Poppy is okay......" said Mandy before she disapparated.  
  
***  
  
Mandy appeared beside Jonathan Wood in the Pomfreys' living room and immediately, she asked: "What happened to Poppy?"  
  
Jonathan just shrugged.  
  
Mandy looked around and found that Minerva, Georgia, Albus and the rest of the male classmates were there, looking worried. Mrs Pomfrey came into the room, looking sad but relaxed when she saw all of Poppy's close friends were there.  
  
"Guys, girls, Poppy's sick, she's cracked up, you have got to give her some real help." she said sadly.  
  
"Cracked up?" whispered Minerva in fear.  
  
"Ever since William's funeral, she locked herself up in her room. She refused to eat anything either. I heard her crying at night and today.........."  
  
"What?" asked the Hogwarts Sisters.  
  
"Suddenly she went screaming an hour ago that it is her fault that William died, and that she could have stopped him from going to Russia."  
  
"It is not her fault that William is killed by a dark wizard!" cried Nicholas Longbottom.  
  
"But Poppy insisted that it is." said Mrs Pomfrey.  
  
"And now? How is she?" asked Georgia in concern.  
  
"Now she is like, I don't know how to put it......."  
  
"What?" asked Mandy anxiously.  
  
Mrs Pomfrey trembled as she spoke. "She didn't respond to anything. No matter what I say or do, she doesn't react. When I fed her a glass of water, the water just flow out, as if she doesn't know how to drink......." She took a breath and started weeping.  
  
"Where is she now, Mrs Pomfrey?" asked Joe Black.  
  
"In her bedroom."  
  
"Let's go and see her." suggested Albus and all agreed.  
  
***  
  
When they arrived at Poppy's bedroom, it was dark inside. Robert Lupin switched on the light and they found Poppy sitting on the floor near the window, looking rather blank. Her hair was untied and her eyes were red.  
  
"Oh Merlin, Poppy." whispered Minerva.  
  
"Ah!" exclaimed Don Weasley and everyone looked at him (except Poppy of course). "I can tell you what the problem is, the poor girl doesn't eat."  
  
Minerva rolled her eyes while Joe snapped at Don, "Oh please, don't be an idiot."  
  
"Well, we can try, I will get her favourite food, maybe she will eat that." said Don hopefully and went downstairs before anyone could stop him.  
  
He came back with a delicious looking chocolate cake in his hand and squatted down in front of Poppy. The gang looked at them doubtfully.  
  
"Hey Poppy, want this chocolate cake? It's your favourite." said Don gently.  
  
Poppy just stared at Don with her lifeless eyes.  
  
"Okay, so you don't want that......." said Don slowly. "Want anything else?"  
  
She didn't respond.  
  
Didn't know what else he could do, Don just got up and left the room to put back the cake. The Hogwarts Sisters, on the hand, rushed to their Empress Singing Flower.  
  
"Poppy? Can you hear me?" asked Mandy.  
  
She continued to stare ahead.  
  
"It's us, Poppy, your Hogwarts Sisters." said Georgia.  
  
"Speak to us, please." pleaded Minerva.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Poppy, do say something, you are scaring us." said Jonathan.  
  
No matter what they said, Poppy continued to act as if they were invisible and the blank look remained on her face throughout the whole thing.  
  
"Oh Poppy," said Minerva with tears in her eyes and reached out to hug her.  
  
As she embraced her, Poppy remained like a doll, she didn't even return her hug. Georgia and Mandy didn't know what to do.  
  
***  
  
"I hope Poppy will be okay soon." said Don to Mrs Pomfrey when they left the house a few minutes later.  
  
"My husband and I are thinking about sending her to a psychiatric hospital if she continued to be like this." said Mrs Pomfrey quietly.  
  
"What?" asked the Hogwarts Sisters in horror.  
  
"She needs professional help."  
  
"Oh." said Minerva quietly.  
  
"Well, um, thank you all for visiting." said Mrs Pomfrey gratefully.  
  
"No problem." said Albus politely.  
  
"Goodbye." said Mrs Pomfrey before closing the door.  
  
Soon, they heard Mrs Pomfrey wailing upstairs. "Oh Poppy, do respond, please! Don't scare your mother........"  
  
Albus sighed and put his hand onto Minerva's shoulder. "Come on, Minerva."  
  
Minerva turned to Albus and immediately, she put her arms around him and started sobbing. "Oh Albus, how did she turn out to be like this? I don't want her to be like that for the rest of her life......"  
  
Georgia started to cry and Nicholas comforted her.  
  
Mandy was silent since they left Poppy's house and when Jonathan asked, "Mandy, are you okay?"  
  
"Hm, what? Yeah, I......." Mandy sniffed and wiped the tears away from her eyes. "......okay....." she ended weakly.  
  
"No, you are not." said Jonathan quietly.  
  
"Fine, so I am not......" said Mandy, her voice saddened and a second later, she began to weep.  
  
"Jonny, I don't get it, why does everything turn out to be like this?" she demanded in a feeble voice.  
  
***  
  
A few days later, Mrs Pomfrey asked the Hogwarts Sisters to accompany her, Poppy and her father to a private psychiatric hospital, because Poppy remained to be the same since the gang left her house days ago. At the hospital, they wanted Poppy to sigh herself in because they didn't want her to feel like she was being put away.  
  
When the witch at the counter asked for her name, Poppy said, "Empress Singing Flower."  
  
The witch stared at Mr Pomfrey.  
  
"Ask again." he suggested.  
  
So she did.  
  
"I told you, it is Empress Singing Flower!" she snapped, grabbed a small Muggle vase from the counter and threw it at the witch, nearly missed her head.  
  
Minerva put her arms around her and cried, "Empress, please! The witch didn't mean to offend you by asking you the same question twice!"  
  
"I afraid it would be involuntary commitment if the girl doesn't give me her real name." said the witch as calm as possible after she had gotten over her shock.  
  
Mr Pomfrey rushed out and slammed his hands onto the counter. "Listen Miss, I paid your hospital bloody well to get her in here, if she wants to sign herself as Empress Singing Flower, then she IS Empress Singing Flower, am I clear?"  
  
Boy, was he clear.  
  
***  
  
2004  
  
By the time Mandy finished her story, it was late evening.  
  
"There were no records of Poppy Pomfrey ever having checked into a psychiatric hospital for 6 months. No one ever knew, except her family, the Hogwarts Sisters and her friends. On the day of her discharge, we took a solemn oath that we would not talk about it." said Mandy and took a deep breath. "But today, Georgia and I have no choice but to break it because we have to make you understand why Minerva doesn't want you to be an Auror. Poppy isn't here because the past is too painful for her to say."  
  
Achilles didn't respond.  
  
"Achilles, your mother doesn't want you to be an Auror because she loves you. She doesn't want to lose you like how Poppy loses William. Have you ever imagined what your mother will be like if she loses the one she loves? What if you, your father or Athena dies suddenly? She will break down and may even die of depression."  
  
Achilles still remained silent.  
  
"Achilles, are you okay?" asked Georgia.  
  
"Yeah." said Achilles quietly.  
  
"Look, Achilles, it is your choice. If you still won't forgive your mother for not telling you the truth 19 years ago, go ahead and leave the house........." Mandy trailed off and looked at Achilles for his reaction.  
  
Achilles had a blank look on his face.  
  
"Achilles?"  
  
"I will, um, stay here for the night." he said finally.  
  
"Is that means you will forgive your mother?" asked Georgia.  
  
Mandy frowned. "Um, Georgia? If Achilles has Minerva's temper, I don't think he will say it out loud that he has forgiven her."  
  
"Oh, right."  
  
Achilles silently thanked Mandy for that.  
  
"Well, we got to go home and prepare our lessons for Monday, right, Georgia?"  
  
"Huh? (Mandy stepped onto her foot) Ouch, hm, right."  
  
"W-wait, you are not staying here for the night?" asked Achilles.  
  
"No." said Mandy and Georgia in unison.  
  
"You can stay here if you like. I have two adorable babies to take care of at home." said Mandy.  
  
"I have loads of paperwork to do," lied Georgia. "See you tomorrow."  
  
"Don't try to escape tonight, okay?" said Mandy and ruffled Achilles's hair before she and Georgia left.  
  
***  
  
After the two Hogwarts Sisters left, Achilles looked at the album again. After a few pages, he found a photo of Poppy with blood on her white robes. She looked tired. He looked at the top of page and saw the words:  
  
March 17 1966, the birth of Queen Cold As Ice's son, Achilles  
  
Achilles raised his eyebrows at the words and looked at the photos carefully. He saw photos of Minerva, looking extremely exhausted but happy on a bed with himself in her arms. There were a few sentences under a photo of Albus, Minerva and baby Achilles. It looked like a transcript of a conversation:  
  
Poppy: So what are you going to call him?  
  
Albus: Achilles.  
  
Poppy: Achilles....... Wait a minute, THE Achilles? The Trojan War hero?  
  
Albus: The very same.  
  
Poppy: Why do you name him after a hero who died because of the injury in his heel?  
  
Minerva: Hm, we will ignore that part. I am the one who named him. I give that name because I want him to be invulnerable like the hero himself. So that nothing could harm him.  
  
Achilles nearly cried when he read that. Now he understood everything. 


	19. There's Something About Malfoy

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard comes from "Hornblower".  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of the scenes and lines come from "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" (both book, written by Rebecca Wells, and movie) , so you may find them familiar and I certainly don't own them.  
  
Disclaimer 4: The text of Professor Binns' lecture on Pearl Harbour comes from the book "The 20th Century: As It Was Lived, A History of the Modern World" by Nigel Kelly and Paul Shuter  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Kemenran, chicken13, Jestana, Margo Wulfric-Thank You!  
  
Isabelle3- Yep, Achilles finally realizes his mistake and he will reconcile with Minerva, after a very sad event.  
  
LinZE- Suits her, doesn't it? *grins*  
  
Chapter 19: There's Something About Malfoy  
  
Monday  
  
"Oh great, holidays are over and it will be study, study, study again." Ron Weasley complained in the Great Hall during breakfast.  
  
"Don't forget Quidditch." Harry Potter reminded.  
  
The two boys looked at each other and sighed loudly.  
  
"Oh stop complaining," Hermione Granger said in annoyance. "Hm, I think they should stop Quidditch during exam periods..."  
  
"And take away our only leisure time?" Ron asked in horror. "Are you mad? We will go crazy if there's no Quidditch during exam periods!"  
  
"Well, you survive without it during our Fourth year." Hermione said.  
  
"That's different, I was not the Keeper of the team yet and the World Cup made up for it that time..."  
  
"Mail's here!" Harry called, trying to stop the small argument and getting Ron and Hermione's attention to the owls.  
  
"You can have a look at the newspaper first if you want, Harry." Hermione said when an owl arrived with the paper. She turned back to Ron. "Look, a lot of people managed to survive without Quidditch, take me for example...."  
  
"You are an exception."  
  
"No I am not, look at Athena, she survives without Quidditch for years.."  
  
Harry took the Daily Prophet from the owl and unfolded it. He frowned at an article in the paper that said:  
  
YOU-KNOW-WHO GOES QUIET  
  
Everyone knows that now is the second Voldemort war. However, ever since a murder of a Muggleborn in a Muggle bookshop in Helga Road last month, You- Know-Who seem to have disappeared. He didn't do anything else since last month.  
  
"There is something up. You-Know-Who can't just disappeared like that. He must be planning something," said Mr Edward Pellew, Head of the Auror Headquarters.  
  
You-Know-Who, has been everyone's most feared wizard ever since Grindelwald. Up to the date ever since You-Know-Who returns two years ago, the Aurors managed to catch 50 of his supporters.  
  
"There are still a lot of You-Know-Who's supporters out there, but we are trying, someday, we will catch all of them," said Mr Philip Edrington, one of the Aurors of the higher rank.  
  
"Ron, Hermione! Take a look at this." Harry said and the two of them stopped arguing immediately.  
  
"Well, that Pellew fellow is right, You-Know-Who can't just disappeared like that." Ron said after reading the article.  
  
"Maybe the Order knows something." Hermione whispered.  
  
"But who could we ask for information about the Order? Dumbledore is too busy, McGonagall will keep quiet and I am definitely not asking Snape..." Harry said.  
  
"We can't contact Sirius now and we don't have Professor Lupin's lessons until after lunch...." Ron said quietly.  
  
Suddenly a thought struck the three of them.  
  
"Hermione, are you thinking what I am thinking?" Harry asked.  
  
Hermione smiled.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
"I think so."  
  
The three of them turned their heads slowly towards Athena's direction.  
  
"She is Professor McGonagall's daughter, she must know something." Ron said excitedly.  
  
***  
  
Athena stroked her owl, Bubo; as she shook her letter unfolded with her another hand. Bubo flew off and Athena read her letter:  
  
Dearest Thena,  
  
All right in the Auror Headquarters, I am getting busy now. Your brother is still not back yet. Mr Edrington and Mr Pellew have been asking me about his whereabouts. Thena, if you see your brother, you better tell him to forgive your mother soon, so that he could come back to the Headquarters, go back to his work and spare me from Mr Edrington and Mr Pellew.  
  
Mr Kennedy and Mr Hornblower, on the hand, are not so anxious about your brother. They think that he have gone for a vacation. They have been singing "Terence and Athena, sitting on the tree.." um, you know the rest of the song. *blushes* I wonder how they find out about us.  
  
Your NEWTs is coming, study hard okay? Ask questions if you don't understand your homework. I will be glad to help too if you want.  
  
Yours lovingly,  
  
Terry  
  
Athena blushed at the letter and just wanted to open her bag for her quill and parchment when she heard: "Athena."  
  
She turned around and saw the trio looking at her. "Yes?" she asked as she quickly stuffed her letter into her bag.  
  
"Athena, does your mother bring you to the meetings of the Order?" Hermione asked.  
  
"No, I am too young to go."  
  
"Does she mention anything about the content of the meetings to you?" Harry asked anxiously.  
  
"No."  
  
"Look, you are her daughter, you must at least know something about the Order!" Ron exclaimed impatiently.  
  
Athena widened her eyes and gasped while Hermione clapped her hand over Ron's mouth. "Shut up, Ron! Do you want everyone to know about the Order?!" she hissed.  
  
"Yeah, look, Malfoy is already looking at us." Harry said.  
  
Athena turned around and saw Draco Malfoy looking at them. Then she saw him standing up and coming towards their direction.  
  
"Darn! Malfoy is coming towards us!" Harry said.  
  
Malfoy stopped at their table and called: "Hey, Mudbloods."  
  
"Don't call them that!" Ron snapped.  
  
"Stay out of this, Weasel." Malfoy sneered. "Look, you two. Which one of you takes Muggle Studies?" he asked Athena and Hermione.  
  
"I do." Athena said slowly.  
  
"Okay, McGonagall, tell me exactly where can I find books on Muggle war weapons in the library."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
" Don't "huh", just tell me."  
  
"Go and find out yourself."  
  
"Fine." Malfoy said and turned back to the Slytherin table.  
  
"Why is Malfoy asking about Muggle war weapons?" Ron asked.  
  
***  
  
At the Dumbledores' summer house, Achilles frowned at the Daily Prophet.  
  
"You-Know-Who is up to something, all right." he muttered, folded the newspaper and tossed it onto a table. "But what? And the Headquarters seem to be very busy.."  
  
He wanted to go back to the Auror Headquarters and asked Pellew for full details, but he knew that if he didn't get his things done with his mother, he couldn't go anywhere.  
  
Now how was he going to tell his mother that he had understood everything? Just went to her and apologized? That would work..  
  
But would she forgive him for being such a jerk?  
  
"Whatever, just try to get out of here first." he thought.  
  
But how?  
  
***  
  
"Mandy?" Georgia asked when breakfast time was over and Minerva had left for her lessons.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Did you tell Achilles about the transportation at the summer house? That we had lied about them and he could use them anytime if he wants to get out?"  
  
"Oops."  
  
***  
  
During Transfiguration, the class was trying to change their hair colour when Malfoy raised his hand.  
  
"Yes, Mr Malfoy?"  
  
"Professor, I was wondering whether if there is any way you can transfigure ordinary things into Muggle weapons?"  
  
Athena, who had just turned her hair colour into black, raised her eyebrows at Malfoy's sudden interest for Muggle weapons. Harry, on the other hand, only managed to get some of his hair colour into brown. But he didn't care, he heard Malfoy's question and whispered something to Hermione, whose hair was now blond.  
  
"Yes, But I won't teach you that. You won't need that unless you are taking the Auror tests. Now carry on transfigure your hair colour, I notice that your silvery blond hair remains the same since just now."  
  
"Ha!" Ron said, a little too loudly.  
  
"Don't "ha", Mr Weasley, now what is this hair colour of yours? I want a complete, normal transformation, not this odd hair colour that Muggles found wearing these days." she said sternly and stared disapprovingly at Ron's red and green hair.  
  
"Sorry, Professor, I was trying to transfiguration my hair colour into black..." Ron said quickly.  
  
Minerva turned to the Slytherins and commented on Goyle's hair for being blue, then she came back to Harry and Hermione, who were still whispering.  
  
"Potter, your hair..." she started.  
  
"Oops, sorry, Professor!" Harry said and concentrated on his mirror, continued to try to change the rest of his hair into brown.  
  
Minerva leaned forward to look at Hermione's hair closely. "Excellent, Miss Granger."  
  
Hermione blushed. "Thank you, Professor."  
  
Minerva walked forward and stopped at Athena's table. "Athena, let me have a full look at your hair."  
  
"Okay, how do I look?" she asked and grinned.  
  
"Just like me." Minerva said and smiled.  
  
"Think the Hogwarts Sisters and Dad will be fooled if I tell them that I am you?" Athena asked as her mother ran her fingers through her hair to see if she had done her transfiguration well.  
  
"Hogwarts Sisters, yes. Your father, I don't think so. He will recognize your eyes...." Minerva said and removed her hand. "Well done, I can't find any traces of your old hair colour."  
  
"Great, can I continue to wear this colour for the rest of the day?"  
  
"No way."  
  
***  
  
During the History of Magic, Athena was about to fell asleep due Professor Binns' boring lecture on Grindelwald in 1945 (even though it did involve her father) when Malfoy raised his hand.  
  
"What's with Malfoy today?" Harry asked Ron sleepily.  
  
"Yes, Moby?"  
  
"It's Malfoy, Professor. I was wondering whether you can tell us about the attack of Pearl Harbour in the Muggle war World War Two."  
  
The class groaned.  
  
"Well, the attack...let's see... it happened during December 7, 1941..."  
  
The Gryffindors stared as Malfoy nudged Crabbe and Goyle awake while rest of the Slytherins took out their notebooks and started scribbling.  
  
"Since January 1941, the Muggle Japanese had been making plans for a war against America. There were rumours of a possible attack on the American Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, but Muggle American military experts did not believe that such an attack would happen and ignored the rumours."  
  
Athena, who was now fully awaked, looked in amusement at the Slytherins, who were still writing.  
  
"Just before 8am on Sunday, 7 December 1941, Japanese aircraft swept down on the United States naval base in Hawaii. Muggle historians have long argued whether Japanese intended to declare war before the attack, and whether the Americans knew that the attack was coming. What is not in doubt, however, is the effect of the Japanese action. The attack caused 2,400 American deaths, the sinking of 8 battleships and the damage or destruction of more than 350 planes."  
  
"Okay, thank you, Professor." Malfoy said.  
  
***  
  
During Defence Against the Dark Arts, Malfoy behaved in the strangest way by kept on asking Lupin about harmful hexes. Usually he just kept quiet during Lupin's lessons.  
  
"What is Malfoy playing at?" Ron hissed to Harry.  
  
After lessons, Malfoy and the Slytherins ran off while Harry, Ron and Hermione stayed to ask Lupin about the Order.  
  
"Not much, just that Dumbledore suspects that Voldemort is planning something." Lupin said as he put back the 7th years' Defence Against the Dark Arts textbook back into his suitcase.  
  
"I don't think he is telling us the whole thing." Ron said dryly after they left the classroom.  
  
***  
  
After school, Harry and a few of the Gryffindors arrived at the library to study when they saw the Slytherins sitting at a table with a few pile of books on it. They were whispering and taking notes.  
  
"Will you take a look at that? Even the Slytherins are studying!" Seamus Finnigan whispered to Dean Thomas.  
  
"Wait a minute, Malfoy is coming out of the Muggle Studies section!" Ron said as they sat down.  
  
"Yeah, with 5 books in his hands," Harry said. "Hm, something fishy is going on..."  
  
"Stop bothering yourself about the Slytherins and get to work!" Hermione ordered.  
  
***  
  
An hour later, the Slytherins left, each with a book or two in their hands.  
  
"Let's see what they are reading on!" Ron said and walked to the table where the Slytherins used to sit.  
  
He gaped and the Gryffindors had to ask him what they were reading. He grabbed a few of them, came back and put them on the table where the Gryffindors were. "Look at this!"  
  
"Oh my, all of them are books on war..." Athena said.  
  
"Muggle War Weapons Through the Ages, The Attack of Pearl Harbour, Muggle Military War Goods in the 21st century, Muggle War Techniques..." Harry read the book titles. "There's something wrong with Malfoy. He is a proud pureblood, why does he suddenly have this interest on Muggle war?" 


	20. My Name Is Achilles McGonagall

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the Aurors come from "Hornblower"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Jestana, Margo Wulfric- I like the class too *smiles*  
  
Isabelle3- See the lower part for answer  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 20: "My Name Is Achilles McGonagall"  
  
In the next few days, the Slytherins remained the same. The Gryffindors often found them reading about Muggle warfare in the library. Sometimes, Malfoy could be found reading about operating Muggle war planes. In the mornings, there were a lot of mails for the Slytherins so the other students could practically see nothing but owls at their table during mail time.  
  
"It's scary, seeing that the Slytherins are so obsessed in this Muggle war stuff," said Ron to Harry when they passed by a Slytherin who was reading about the attack on Pearl Harbour in the library. "Do you reckon that they are up to something?"  
  
"Maybe," said Harry simply. "Anyway, Athena said that she would tell Professor McGonagall about this......"  
  
Once he had finished his sentence, Athena came running into the library.  
  
"Hey Athena, so what did your mother say?" asked Harry.  
  
Ignoring Madam Pince's frown, Athena said, "She said that maybe the Slytherins are having a Muggle war mania."  
  
"Well, it is not affecting us." said Ron.  
  
"But she said that she would ask all teachers to keep an eye on them."  
  
"I doubt that Snape will." said Harry flatly.  
  
"By the way, I had sent an owl to my friend in the Auror Headquarters about this a few days ago."  
  
"And what did your friend say?" asked Ron.  
  
"He told me to keep an eye on the Slytherins; they might be up to something. Muggle war weapons might be not as good as magic but they are deadly. He said you will die immediately if a Muggle bullet hits your important organs."  
  
"How did he know?" asked Ron in awe.  
  
"Well, the Aurors are being trained to use swords, guns and cannons properly. So that they could handle any weapon once they got their hands on them. I heard from my friend that the Aurors of the higher ranks get to use swords and guns while the Aurors of the lower rank get to use guns only."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Whoa." said Harry and Ron in unison.  
  
***  
  
In the Dumbledores' summer house, Achilles walked slowly into the lounge and to the shiny black piano that was standing alone in the middle of the room. He stopped beside it and stood for a moment as he ran his fingers along its polished case.  
  
"I used to play this for hours while Mom and Dad listen." Achilles thought.  
  
Then he looked at the couch at the corner of the sun-lit room as if his parents were there, watching him. He sat down on the long chair in front of the piano and lifted its keyboard cover.  
  
"Just like brand new." he thought as he looked at the keys.  
  
He put his hands on them, hesitated for a while and started playing Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata".  
  
As he did, someone came in quietly and he didn't notice.  
  
He kept on playing, getting more and more enthusiastic as he went. When he played the last note, the other person in the room clapped.  
  
He looked up.  
  
"Poppy?"  
  
Poppy just smiled. "That's excellent. Looks like your skills didn't go down the drain after 20 years."  
  
Achilles didn't know what to say.  
  
She sighed and stared at the piano for a while sadly before she said: "William used to play that too. He was an expert in this."  
  
Achilles blinked in surprise. He thought that Poppy would never talk about William.  
  
"Every time when he plays, I would sit close beside him and listen attentively. My favourite is Beethoven's "Waldstein". Could you play that?"  
  
"Hm, okay." said Achilles slowly and he started to play while Poppy leaned on the side of piano and listened.  
  
As the soft music filled the air, Achilles noticed a sorrow look on Poppy's face and her expression worsened as he went on.  
  
"Oh stop, stop........." she muttered weakly and covered her eyes with her hand.  
  
Achilles stopped immediately and asked in concern, "Poppy, are you okay?"  
  
Poppy sniffed and said, "Yeah........anyway, I am here to inform you that you are allowed to go."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said, you are allowed to get out of here, you are free."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Poppy nodded.  
  
Achilles smiled brightly and got up quickly. "Great!" Then his smile faded. "Hm, Poppy?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Are you mad at me?"  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For leaving home 20 years ago."  
  
"For a while, yes. But when I see from your point of view, I understand why you want to leave. We are being stupid for not telling you the whole truth, aren't we?"  
  
"Um......not exactly, I mean, you swore not to because it is too painful to talk about." said Achilles slowly, and looked at Poppy for her reaction.  
  
Poppy's face showed no expression. But then she said, "Achilles, promise me one thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Find a suitable day and apologize to your mother."  
  
Achilles swallowed before he talked. "Will she forgive me?"  
  
"She will, I am sure she will." said Poppy and patted Achilles's shoulder. "And one more thing......"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Change back to your name, will you? Your name is special and you shouldn't ignore it."  
  
***  
  
Achilles returned to the Auror Headquarters immediately and reported to Pellew.  
  
Pellew was not pleased at him for being absent and he didn't make an effort of hiding it. "You have gone for days! Do you know that you are very much needed here?!"  
  
"Sorry, Sir." Achilles mumbled, thinking that it would not be easy to get another leave.  
  
After five minutes of scolding, Pellew finally let Achilles to get back to his work but before he left, he said, "By the way, Mr Smith?"  
  
"Yes Sir?"  
  
"Did a girl named Athena McGonagall look for you a few days ago?"  
  
"H-how......."  
  
"Don't ask, just answer my question." said Pellew impatiently.  
  
"Um, yes."  
  
"So she is your sister, then?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then may I suggest you to change your name back to Achilles McGonagall in the register?"  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
"All right, you may go, Mr McGonagall."  
  
Once Achilles got out of Pellew's cubicle, he bumped into Bush, knocking his rolls parchments out of his arms.  
  
"Oops, sorry!" said Achilles and kneeled down to help Bush to collect his parchments.  
  
"Thanks," said Bush and smiled broadly when he saw who was helping him. "Hey, Richard! Back for work, I suppose?"  
  
Achilles held a finger. "Ah! Don't call me Richard."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"From now on, my name is Achilles McGonagall." said Achilles proudly.  
  
***  
  
At Friday morning, the Slytherins were not reading any books on Muggle warfare; instead they were sitting at their house table, talking quietly. When owl posts came, as usual, most of the owls headed straight to the Slytherins.  
  
"I wonder who would write to them," said Ron as he watched Malfoy reading his letter. "I mean, they are not super stars like Wood, and they are not exactly the popular kind......."  
  
Malfoy smirked, crumpled his letter and leaned forward to whisper something to the Slytherins. He leaned back and waited until the bell rang. He got up with the rest of the Slytherins and instead of going with them, he marched to the Gryffindor table.  
  
"Hey, are all of you planning to do anything meaningful today?" he asked the Gryffindors.  
  
"Like what?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Like writing to your parents."  
  
"I just wrote to them yesterday. What are you up to, Malfoy?" asked Ron suspiciously.  
  
"Nothing." said Malfoy slowly and an evil grin appeared on his face. "I think you should, so that they would know what you are up to until.........."  
  
He stopped and ignoring the Gryffindors' annoyed faces, he turned to Harry.  
  
"You know, my father is right, Potty. You are going to be in the same sticky end like your parents."  
  
"Will you stop talking nonsense and tell us what is going on?" said Athena irritably.  
  
"You will find out soon. Farewell." said Malfoy and left.  
  
"Until what?" asked Ron.  
  
No one answered.  
  
***  
  
During Transfiguration, the class was changing their eye colours. Athena had successfully changed her eye colour into green. Harry, who was still thinking about Malfoy's words, absentmindedly changed one of his eyes into blue when he was supposed to change his both eyes at the same time.  
  
Athena looked whether Minerva was looking and quickly, she changed her hair colour into black as well.  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, on the outside, some of the students were lying peacefully outside near the lake, watching the blue sky when 12 Muggle war planes came to view from afar.  
  
"Wow, will you look at that?" asked a Hufflepuff boy in awe as he pointed at one of the planes.  
  
"Those are Muggle war planes," said a Hufflepuff girl. "My dad is a military officer, so I know this. I think they are doing drills or something......"  
  
***  
  
Mandy was on a lawn, teaching a flying lesson.  
  
"Oh, Madam Hooch, look! War planes! Are they coming for us?" asked a first year.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous, Muggles couldn't see this place, they must be just passing by." snapped Mandy.  
  
***  
  
"Athena!"  
  
"What?" asked Athena as she turned around and looked at her mother.  
  
"I didn't ask you to change your hair colour as well, change it back."  
  
"Aw, I just want to see the 17 year old Minerva again." said Athena and grinned as she looked into the mirror.  
  
"Athena, please, you are frightening everyone here." said Minerva.  
  
Sure enough, the class was staring at Athena and Minerva in shock. They didn't know that Athena looked so much like her mother once she had her eye and hair colour changed. Athena grinned and stood up beside her mother.  
  
"I need glasses." said Neville finally.  
  
"Fine, I will change it back." said Athena and she sat down.  
  
***  
  
When the war planes were exactly over the castle, a Death Eater in the first war plane crackled madly, "Bombs away."  
  
CLICK  
  
***  
  
"There," said Athena, looking like herself again. "Better?"  
  
BOOM  
  
"What was that?" asked Harry in horror. 


	21. Surprise Attack!

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
WANT A FAST UPDATE? YOU GOT IT! *grins*  
  
Chapter 21: Surprise Attack!  
  
"What the..." Mandy started and she watched in horror as one of the Muggle warplanes dropped another bomb from the sky.  
  
"Madam Hooch, I told you that they are attacking us!" cried the first-year as she watched 2 more warplanes flying towards the castle's direction.  
  
"You students, head for the gates and get out of the school grounds!" Mandy ordered and without waiting for reply, she rushed back to the castle.  
  
The students at the lake got up and ran frantically towards the first years so that they could escape with them.  
  
***  
  
BOOM  
  
"There goes another one!" Ron shouted.  
  
Terrifying screams and shouts were heard from the outside.  
  
"Stay here, all of you!" Minerva ordered and rushed towards the door.  
  
The students, on the hand, dashed to the windows.  
  
Minerva flung the door open, looked out and stared in shock as students ran past her classroom. She quickly grabbed hold one of them and asked, "Miss Abbott, what is going on?"  
  
Hannah Abbott of Hufflepuff stared at her with fear in her eyes and said, "We, we were doing Charms, Professor, and then a Muggle bomb fell through the ceiling!"  
  
"Where is Professor Flitwick?"  
  
"Somewhere, Professor, I don't know!" said Hannah helplessly.  
  
***  
  
"OH MERLIN!" screamed Lavender as she watched the warplanes flying in every direction.  
  
"TAKE COVER!" yelled Harry when he saw one of the Death Eaters aimed their window with a Muggle machine gun.  
  
The Gryffindors shrieked and ducked just in time as bullets hit through the windows, nearly killing them. Only the Slytherins seem to be very happy to see this.  
  
Malfoy snickered. "Surprise!" he sang.  
  
Harry scrambled to his feet, ran to Malfoy and grabbed his collar, "What the hell is going on? Huh? You know, do you?"  
  
"Relax," said Malfoy, and he didn't make an effort to hide his nasty smile. "The Death Eaters are just attacking Hogwarts in the Muggle way."  
  
"So you are asking all those questions and do researching in the library because...."  
  
"I am just collecting information for my father and his friends, why else do you think they could fly so well? But don't worry, they are not using real bombs; they are just using empty bomb shells with explosive potions in them."  
  
Harry scowled at him darkly, "You will never get away with this."  
  
Malfoy smirked at him. "You are wrong. By the way, 100 Death-Eaters are marching right now into the school grounds as we speak."  
  
With that, he threw a punch across his face. As soon as Harry let go of his collar, he ran off with the rest of the Slytherins. The Slytherins pushed Minerva aside roughly at the door and dashed down the corridor.  
  
"What the? Slytherins, come back here!" called Minerva.  
  
"Mom, Mom! The Slytherins are behind all this, they have been giving the Death-Eaters information!" cried Athena.  
  
BOOM  
  
The impact of another bomb shook the whole classroom.  
  
"We can't stay here, follow me, Gryffindors! We will get out of the castle...."  
  
"No, Mom, we can't go outside! The Death Eaters are coming!" said Athena desperately, holding onto her mother's arm to stop her from running.  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"The Room of Requirement! Professor!" shouted Harry after he had gotten up from the floor. His left cheek was bruised.  
  
BOOM  
  
"What?"  
  
"The Room of Requirement!" repeated Harry quickly. "I think that will protect us!"  
  
"Well, lead the way, Potter!"  
  
The Gryffindors except Athena followed Harry out of the room.  
  
"Athena, go and follow Potter, I will go and find your father." whispered Minerva urgently and left.  
  
"I must get help." thought Athena calmly.  
  
So instead of following Harry, Athena ran out and headed straight to the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
***  
  
Lucius Malfoy laughed evilly and looked at the map of Hogwarts.  
  
"Let's see..." he said slowly, acting as if he was just shopping for Dark Arts objects. "Where's the hospital wing?"  
  
***  
  
"Madam Pomfrey! Where's Madam Pomfrey!" screamed Lupin as he carried an injured student into the hospital wing. The student's arm was seriously wounded and his robes were stained with his own blood in huge amount.  
  
"Put him here!" said Poppy quickly and seriously.  
  
Lupin was just about to place his student down near the window when he heard a warplane coming nearer and nearer. He looked up just in time to see Lucius's war plane zooming straight to their direction.  
  
"Plane incoming!" he yelled to no one in particular and without hesitation, he dropped his student down at the side of the wall.  
  
Poppy squatted down near the student and put her arms around him protectively. In a flash, Lupin grabbed a mattress and covered himself, Poppy and his student with it. Straight after he did, Lucius threw a bomb near the hospital wing and it exploded, shattering the hospital's windows into bits and pieces.  
  
***  
  
The students arrived into the gates and they screeched to a halt when they saw two Rapiers crossed right in front of them.  
  
"Ah ah... Naughty, naughty!" sang a Death-Eater with a Rapier as if he was talking to babies. "You shouldn't escape in the middle of the game."  
  
The students didn't know what to say.  
  
"Seize them!" said the Death Eater coldly.  
  
***  
  
"Albus!" screamed Minerva as she rushed into Dumbledore's office. "Hogwarts is under attack!"  
  
"I know." said Dumbledore calmly, getting up from his desk.  
  
"How can you be so calm?!"  
  
"There is no need to lose our heads, help is on the way."  
  
"Really?" asked Minerva, trying to be as cool as her husband.  
  
"I have placed Stealth Sensoring Spells all over the school grounds. The Aurors were alerted once the Death-Eaters flew in with their Muggle disguises."  
  
"Then what is taking them so long?" demanded Minerva impatiently.  
  
"I think they are preparing themselves for this..."  
  
BANG  
  
"Headmaster!" cried Snape after he threw open the door. "The Death-Eaters are coming in! Some of our students are taken as hostages!"  
  
"Do you still want to wait for the Aurors?" asked Minerva as she looked at Dumbledore in the eyes.  
  
"No... I think we have to protect the school ourselves first before they arrive!" said Dumbledore seriously.  
  
He grabbed his wand and ran out, beckoning Snape and Minerva to follow.  
  
***  
  
Athena stopped in front of the Fat Lady and tried to catch her breath as the portrait asked, "Password?"  
  
Athena stared at her in disbelief. "What?! The school is under attack and all you care about is a stupid password?"  
  
The Fat Lady's eyes widened. "Really?"  
  
"Then what do you think all those noises are?!"  
  
"I thought they are made by mischievous kids!" said the Fat Lady and without another word, she shifted, revealing the entrance of the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Athena dashed in just in time to see Dennis Creevey and a few 1st years hiding under a table. She ignored them and stopped in front of the fireplace. She grabbed a handful of Floo powder, struck her head into the fireplace, threw the powder into the fire and shouted, "Auror Headquarters!"  
  
A few seconds later, she saw pair of legs running around the Headquarters madly and so fast that their robes were like blurs.  
  
"Terry? Mr Edrington? Achilles? Mr Pellew? Are you there?" she cried.  
  
Nobody answered. She heard Pellew yelling, "Mr Wellard!"  
  
She saw a pair of legs stopped right in front of her.  
  
"Sir?" asked the person in front of Athena in Wellard's voice.  
  
"Check whether your gun's safety switch is on!"  
  
"Terry!" called Athena.  
  
The legs turned around and Wellard's face came to view. "Thena? What are you..."  
  
"Terry, you better report to Mr Pellew and tell him...."  
  
"What is going on out there, huh?" interrupted Dennis in fright.  
  
***  
  
"Now where is the Gryffindor Tower?" Lucius muttered as he looked at the map again. "AH! Here it is!"  
  
CLICK  
  
***  
  
"We know, we know, Hogwarts is under attack, right?" said Wellard quickly. "We are now preparing to go to Hogwarts to help! Where are you anyway?"  
  
"Gryffindor Tower! But how did you know...."  
  
Whatever Athena was asking, she didn't manage to finish her question, for a bomb chose that moment to blast through the roof of the Gryffindor Tower.  
  
"AH!" screamed Athena and she went out of Wellard's sight.  
  
"Thena? Thena! Answer me, Thena!" yelled Wellard.  
  
No response.  
  
***  
  
'We need to find a place for protection, where we can be safe from Death Eaters and their attacks...' thought Harry as he and the Gryffindors walked past the stretch of blank wall opposite an enormous tapestry depicting Banrnabas the Barmy's attempt to train trolls for ballet three times.  
  
BOOM  
  
Trying to ignore the loud explosion, Harry continued to concentrate on what he wanted.  
  
"There, Harry!" cried Hermione when she saw a huge, thick door appeared on the wall.  
  
"Now that's a hard door," commented Seamus as he tapped on it. "Wow, I think it is made by cement!"  
  
"Who cares?" snapped Harry impatiently as he put his hands on the huge wheel and turned it hard.  
  
The door clicked and swung open.  
  
"Okay, now everyone, get in!"  
  
"Wow." said Thomas in awe at the room.  
  
The room had cupboards of food and water that could last them for days. Sleeping bags were piled neatly at one corner. There was another door in the room that led to the toilet.  
  
Harry pulled the door shut. "Okay, I think we are safe here."  
  
"But the others are not," Ron pointed out. "And Ginny, I need to find her!"  
  
"Hey look! Death-Eaters!" reported Neville as he looked out of the window. "I think they got some of the students at the gates! See, they are holding them as hostages! And there is a lot of them are marching towards the school!"  
  
"Hm, Harry? Do you think that we are rather selfish?" asked Hermione and Harry looked at her. "I mean, we are safe here while the others are outside, fighting and running for their lives."  
  
"You are right...okay, all of you stay here, I am going outside and get more students in...."  
  
Shouts of protest rose immediately.  
  
"You can't just go out by yourself!" said Neville in horror.  
  
"Don't be thick, if you want to go, I am coming too!" said Ron determinedly.  
  
"Yeah, we are a part of the Dumbledore's Army too, don't forget!" said Dean and Seamus nodded.  
  
Harry held his hands for silence. "All right, whoever wants to go with me, raise your hand."  
  
All students raised their hands.  
  
"But I need one here to look after this place." said Harry again.  
  
Silence.  
  
"I will do it." said Seamus.  
  
"Good, Seamus, you stay here. The rest of you, come with me and find the rest of the Army!"  
  
***  
  
"Close the door!" yelled Dumbledore and the teachers pushed the huge, oak front door shut.  
  
"Seal it!"  
  
The teachers (except Poppy, who was still in the hospital wing, looking after injured students) took out their wands and yelled together: "COLLOPORTUS!"  
  
***  
  
Lucius and the other 13 Death-Eaters landed their planes in the Quidditch field and they came out to join the other 100. They stopped outside the front door and took out their wands.  
  
"ALOHOMORA!" they roared.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
"Darn! Fine, we are going to knock this door down!" Lucius yelled. "Macnair! Lead 20 of our men to find a window, there must be a window on the ground floor! Break it and get yourselves through. The others and I will stay here and try to break this door!"  
  
***  
  
"All right, I think that will hold them off for a while." Georgia said as she listened to the Death-Eaters' loud shouting of charms and curses outside.  
  
CRASH  
  
"The Death-Eaters!" Professor Flitwick (Minerva found him under a pile of bricks outside the Charms classroom) squeaked as the Death-Eaters climbed rapidly through the window.  
  
"Would you mind repeating that?" asked Snape in annoyance.  
  
Minerva quickly stunned one of them and that indicated the start of a fight. With a roar, half of the Death-Eaters rushed forward to accept it while the other half rushed up the stairs to find students to capture. 


	22. Aurors to the Rescue

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Isabelle3- Hm...  
  
WANT A FAST UPDATE? YOU GOT IT! *grins*  
  
Chapter 22: Aurors to the Rescue  
  
"Okay, I think we should go to the Charms Classroom, maybe some of the Hufflepuffs are still there..." started Harry to his friends near the Great Hall.  
  
"And Ravenclaws, Padma told me that she would be having Charms with the Hufflepuffs today..." Parvati added.  
  
"Fine, then we will go to the classroom and find the Hufflepuffs AND the Ravenclaws..." said Harry.  
  
"Oh no, you don't!" yelled Macnair and the Gryffindors froze at the sight of 5 Death Eaters, the other Death Eaters had gone elsewhere.  
  
"What are we going to do now?" whispered Neville to Harry.  
  
Harry whispered to him and Neville passed his message to Dean, soon all Gryffindors had their wands out.  
  
"Don't be a fool, you can't beat us." sneered Macnair.  
  
"Oh yeah?" said Harry slowly and all of the Gryffindors pointed their wands to the every directions except the one behind them.  
  
"NOW!"  
  
"REDUCTO!!"  
  
Suddenly, the ceiling and walls and paintings crumbled and collapsed on the Death Eaters and with Harry's command, the Gryffindors ran off the opposite direction. Neville turn around just in time to see a Death Eater jumped away from the falling ceiling and walls. He glared at the Gryffindor in blazing fury and aimed his wand at them. Neville stopped in his tracks and aimed his wand at him as well.  
  
"STUPEFY!" roared the both of them.  
  
Luckily, Neville was faster than the Death Eater and he ducked to avoid the red light. The light flew and nearly hit Hermione as she ran around a corner with the others. Neville's spell, on the hand, hit the Death Eater squarely on the chest and he tripped over his fellow Death Eater, fell over and landed hard on his back. His Rapier (which was placed securely near his belt) was visible from where Neville was standing.  
  
"Accio Sword!" he called and it flew right at him.  
  
He caught it neatly and stared in awe at the sword, which looked like it had been made yesterday.  
  
"Neville, what the hell are you doing, come on!" yelled Harry and Neville ran.  
  
He caught up with the rest and grinned at them once they were safe. "Sword, anyone?"  
  
"That's a Rapier!" said Hermione knowledgably.  
  
"Neville, where did you get it from?" asked Dean.  
  
"I stunned a Death Eater and I got it from him." said Neville with a slight note of pride in his voice.  
  
"Whoa. Neville, you are getting bolder and I am not surprise if you become an Auror one day." said Ron with a bit of admiration in his voice.  
  
"God, I don't expect that the Death Eaters would use this." said Harry in horror. "One slash and you are dead."  
  
"Yeah, remember what Athena said? Muggle war weapons might be not as good as magic but they are deadly." said Ron.  
  
"Speaking of Athena, where is she?" asked Lavender.  
  
"Maybe she is with Seamus." suggested Neville.  
  
"No, Seamus was alone when we left him, I checked." said Dean.  
  
"Hm, guys? When is the last time we saw Athena?" asked Hermione.  
  
There was a horrified silence.  
  
"Um, okay, let's not worry about her, maybe she is with her mother," said Harry slowly. "Come on, let's go the Charms classroom."  
  
***  
  
"What did you see, Archie?" whispered Hornblower urgently to Kennedy, who was using a telescope.  
  
The Aurors were now lying low behind a long, low wall a few miles away from the Hogwarts gates, heavily armed with their wands, swords and guns. They were watching at the castle for a perfect moment to attack.  
  
"Not much," Kennedy said, continuing to look with the telescope. "Just that a few students were taken as hostages near the gates, some of the Death Eaters were banging on the front door. I think they had..."  
  
Wellard snatched the telescope away from Kennedy and put his eye to it.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Shush!" hissed Bush sharply.  
  
Wellard searched frantically among the hostages for Athena, but there was no sight of her.  
  
"She must be still in the common room...." he muttered and lowered the telescope. "Any ex-Gryffindors here?"  
  
"I am." said Bush. Achilles was too far away to listen.  
  
"Where is the Gryffindor Common Room?"  
  
"Once you stepped out of the Great Hall, you go up to the marble staircase and um," Bush scratched his head as he tried to remember. "Darn, I can't quite remember, just look for a Fat Lady portrait."  
  
"Okay...." said Wellard slowly, didn't know whether to believe Bush or not. But he decided to try Bush's so-called directions anyway..  
  
"Hand me the telescope, Mr Wellard, if you please. Thank you." Pellew whispered.  
  
Wellard handed the telescope to Pellew. Pellew put his eye to it and snapped it shut after a while.  
  
"All right, Mr Hornblower, take a few of your men to the gates and handle that Death Eater quietly, when you are done, ask one of your men to come and get us."  
  
Hornblower nodded and said, "Styles, Matthews, Oldroyd, follow me."  
  
***  
  
The teachers were still fighting with the Death Eaters at the Entrance Hall. Hagrid simply slapped one of them on the neck and knocked him out cold.  
  
"HA, tha' will teach yeh ter be a Death-Eater, yeh fool!"  
  
"Hagrid, don't join in the fight, go and stand at the door to prevent them coming in!" ordered Minerva, losing her concentration for a moment.  
  
Bellatrix Lestrange, whom Minerva was fighting with, took the chance and yelled, "Venas!"  
  
Minerva's eyes widened and she screamed as the spell hit her on the arm.  
  
***  
  
Hornblower and his three men sneaked to the wall beside the gates and stood still for a while before he peeped out at the side of the wall. He saw Death Eaters using a huge log to bang the door, trying to break it down.  
  
"What the damnation...." he mumbled.  
  
He returned his attention to a single Death Eater, whose back was facing him and was watching over the hostages. The students saw him and started to whimper in fright. Hornblower quickly put his finger to his lips and they went silent. He tiptoed out, and continued to do so until he was right behind the Death Eater. He jumped on him, covered his mouth with his hand to prevent him from yelling for help and dragged him out of the gates.  
  
The Death Eater made so much muffled noises that he irritated Hornblower. He rolled his eyes and whispered to Matthews, "Stun him."  
  
"Stupefy." hissed Matthews softly, but loud enough to get the Death Eater stunned.  
  
He lay limply in Hornblower's arms. He curled his lip in disgust and he dropped him as if he was a sack of Doxy droppings.  
  
"One down," he said dryly. "Oldroyd, sneak out there and get those kids one by one so that the Death Eaters at the door wouldn't notice."  
  
"What?" squeaked Oldroyd.  
  
Hornblower glared at him. "Well, you are the smallest here."  
  
Oldroyd swallowed and tiptoed out slowly to the students.  
  
Styles, go and inform Mr Pellew that the coast is clear."  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
***  
  
Minerva stared at her badly wounded arm and yelled some foul language that she would never say in front of her family at Bellatrix.  
  
Bellatrix smirked and when she did, Minerva quickly aimed for her leg and screamed, "VENAS!"  
  
This time, it was Bellatrix's turn to scream  
  
***  
  
"It's okay, you are safe now." said Pellew kindly as Oldroyd finally got the last one out.  
  
"The professors and our friends!! Sir, you must save them!" cried some of the students as they clung on Pellew's robes.  
  
"I will," assured Pellew. "You must be very frightened after this, right?"  
  
The students nodded.  
  
"Mr Matthews, take them to the Honeydukes, maybe a few sweets would calm them down. If not, take them to the Three Broomsticks and wait for further news."  
  
"Aye Sir."  
  
After Matthews left with the students, Pellew nodded at Edrington and Edrington conjured a small bomb out of nowhere. He lit it and threw it over the wall and towards the Death Eaters.  
  
BOOM  
  
***  
  
In the Entrance Hall, the fighters fell due to the impact.  
  
"What the..." started Lupin.  
  
***  
  
When all the Death Eaters were trying to figure out who threw the bomb, Pellew took out his wand and roared, "AURORS, ATTACK!"  
  
The Aurors gave a loud cry together and they ran towards their enemies. Some of the Death Eaters scampered and some of the Aurors followed suit. The rest remain behind and soon, the whole school grounds became a large battlefield. Gunfire from the Aurors, slashing sounds of Rapiers from the Death Eaters and flashes of light from both parties' wands filled the air.  
  
"Mr Edrington and Mr Hornblower! Get some of your men and try to go into the castle!" yelled Pellew as he quickly shot a Death Eater with his gun.  
  
"Yes Sir!" replied Edrington and Hornblower.  
  
They got their men (included Wellard) and ran to the side of the castle, trying to find a window.  
  
***  
  
Harry and his friends ran to the Charms classroom (and settled a few Death Eaters and got a few more students along the way) and stared in shock at the scene. Bricks and dusts were everywhere, books were burnt and tables and chairs were overturned.  
  
"Okay, see if there are survivors." said Harry, praying that there were.  
  
They quickly searched the place, throwing the bricks aside, and calling the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students' names.  
  
"Susan? Justin? Ernie?"  
  
"Padma? Terry? Mandy? Anthony? Michael? Lisa?"  
  
"Oh Merlin." said Ron suddenly after he had moved away a table on a small hill of bricks. He stepped down from the bricks and moved slightly away from it.  
  
"What?" said Harry anxiously.  
  
Ron looked at Harry with such fear that Harry thought that he had seen a big spider.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Come and look." said Ron and the students walked over the debris to him.  
  
As they did, he removed more bricks. The girls gasped in horror and the boys swallowed.  
  
Inside the pile lay a blond hair girl. Her face was blank and her eyes were half-opened.  
  
"Is she...dead?" asked Hermione in fear.  
  
"I don't think she is breathing." whispered Neville.  
  
Harry leaned forward and moved a few more bricks away to uncover the girl more. Nervously, he put a finger under her nose. No breathing. He gently slapped her face, "Miss?"  
  
No response.  
  
Harry sighed and looked at Hermione. "She's dead."  
  
"Oh God." said Hermione quietly.  
  
"I think the bricks have crushed her lungs." said Dean.  
  
Harry bit his lip, determined not to show his sorrow. He got up and yelled, "Susan! Justin! Ernie! Answer me!"  
  
"Harry?" a very soft and weak voice answered from somewhere.  
  
Harry turned around. "Who said that?"  
  
"Justin..."  
  
"Justin? Where are you?!"  
  
"Down here...." the voice continued.  
  
"It sounds like it comes from over there." said Dean, pointing a pile of bricks and books near the window.  
  
Harry practically ran to the location where Justin's voice came from. He tossed the books aside and shouted at the boys, "Come on! Help me!"  
  
The boys raced to where Harry was and begin to throw the debris aside until they saw Justin Finch-Fletchley. Justin was covered with dust and he looked as if he was in pain.  
  
"Are you all right? Where are the others?" asked Lavender in concern.  
  
"I'm okay, just that I have broken my leg. The others have escaped, I guess..." said Justin painfully.  
  
"What about my sister?" asked Parvati.  
  
"I don't know....."  
  
Parvati ran off, screaming, "Padma! Padma, answer me!"  
  
No response.  
  
"Maybe she is too weak to answer, everyone, search for more survivors!" ordered Harry.  
  
The students carried on to search while Harry removed all the debris away from Justin. He tried to carry him but his broken leg couldn't support him at all.  
  
"Ron, Ron! Help me!" called Harry.  
  
After a full search of the room, the students found Terry Boot, Susan Bones and Padma Patil. Parvati cried loudly when she found her under a few chairs and hugged her once she got her sister out. They found a few more victims of the explosion and nothing else.  
  
"Well, at least Ernie, Mandy, Anthony, Michael and Lisa are not here, there is still a possibility that they are alive," said Harry. "Come on, let's bring Justin out." 


	23. Victory

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the Aurors come from "Hornblower"  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines and scenes come from "Hornblower: Retribution" so you may find them familiar, and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Isabelle3- Read this chapter for answer...  
  
Rated PG-13 for content  
  
Chapter 23: Victory  
  
BANG  
  
Edrington shot a window at the ground floor and he pulled it open. "This is one good thing about bullets," he said to his men. "they are faster than reciting a spell."  
  
"Hey, Terrence." called Hornblower.  
  
Wellard turned around.  
  
Hornblower smiled. "Got your guns ready?"  
  
"Yeah," said Wellard, showing Hornblower his two guns, which he had stowed through his belt.  
  
"Horatio, I think it is rather useless to give him another gun, he has enough problems with just one." said Edrington and smirked.  
  
Wellard's white face went pink with embarrassment.  
  
Hornblower frowned at Edrington disapprovingly. "Oh come on, give him a chance. Maybe he will be better this time; he might need two in case he has shot more than 6 Death Eaters."  
  
Edrington just shrugged, poked his head in and looked around at the classroom. Nobody was around. He went through the window and beckoned his men to follow. They walked across the room, opened the door and looked out. No one was in the corridor either.  
  
"All right, we will split up from here," said Edrington. "Horatio, you take your men to the right, I will take my men to the le........"  
  
A range of loud steady footsteps from the right cut Edrington's words off. They turned just in time to see a huge amount of Death Eaters turning around the corner and marching right towards them with their wands out.  
  
"I believe our old friends were upon us. Horatio, take your men and go. We will stay here." said Edrington calmly.  
  
"But......"  
  
"Just go. I will be all right. Men, get ready with your guns."  
  
Edrington's men took out their guns, ready to fire at his command.  
  
Hornblower swallowed and nodded. "Right, follow me!"  
  
"Oh, Horatio?" called Edrington.  
  
Hornblower turned his head around sharply. "What?"  
  
"Good luck." said Edrington sincerely.  
  
Hornblower was still for a while before he nodded again at him. "Good luck to you too."  
  
They ran off, leaving Edrington and his men behind.  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
***  
  
"Horatio, can we go to the Gryffindor Tower first?" asked Wellard desperately as the group ran towards the Entrance Hall. Gunfire and shouts of pain and anger were heard from far behind as Edrington and his men fought the Death Eaters.  
  
BANG  
  
"What for?" asked Hornblower after he shot a single Death Eater dead along the way.  
  
"Athena, I think she is in trouble in there......" said Wellard, not really want to let Hornblower to know that he called Athena as 'Thena'.  
  
"Well........" started Hornblower but he didn't finish his sentence because someone yelled, "Avada Kedavra!" and one of the Aurors beside him gave out a sickening cry and dropped to the floor.  
  
"Death Eaters!" cried Styles.  
  
Hornblower didn't answer Wellard's question. He took out his wand and roared, "AURORS, CHARGE!"  
  
Only Wellard did not charge forward and attack the Death Eaters. He stood there and looked helplessly at the flight of stairs that led to the upper floors, not knowing whether to stay and attack or go and look for the Gryffindor Common Room on his own. Seeing that Hornblower was too busy to make a decision, Wellard decided to take the matter to his own hands. He slowly backed away from the large mob and ran off to the stairs before anyone could stop him.  
  
***  
  
Outside the castle, the battle was still going on. Kennedy had just shot a Death Eater with his gun when someone from his far left made a slashing movement with his wand and a purple flame zoomed right across Kennedy's stomach.  
  
He gave a loud "Ah!" and clutched his stomach. He turned his head to the Death Eater, and with his teeth clenched together, he raised his gun and fired it at him.  
  
When the Death Eater dropped dead, he yelled, "Take that, you foul Death Eater!"  
  
***  
  
"A Fat Lady portrait, a Fat Lady portrait......" muttered Wellard as he ran down the corridor, looking at the paintings as he went. "Oh where is it?!"  
  
He rushed up to another flight of stairs and immediately saw a large hole on the wall. A painting was lying on the floor. Sensing that something was amiss, he ran to it and looked in. A horrible sight greeted him. The room looked as if a bomb had gone off in there. A wall had broken away from the room completely, leaving it standing with only three walls. Paintings, chairs, tables and bricks were on the floor. A few students were lying on them, clearly dead. Only a dusty, small boy with mousey hair was standing beside a long bookcase on the floor, trying to lift it.  
  
Wellard dashed to it and patted the boy's shoulder quickly to get his attention.  
  
Dennis turned around and looked at him with tears in his eyes. "Sir, you must get her out!"  
  
"Who?" asked Wellard urgently.  
  
"A seventh year student! She was calling for help at the fireplace when the bomb dropped in and the bookcase fell right on top of her!! I can't get her out, it is too heavy!"  
  
"A seventh year student? Wait a minute, is this the Gryffindor Common Room?" asked Wellard in horror.  
  
Dennis nodded frantically.  
  
Wellard looked at the edge of the bookcase and to confirm his fears, auburn hair could be seen beneath it.  
  
"Thena!" he cried and took out his wand.  
  
He waved it and the bookcase flew off as if an invisible giant hand had lifted it away. Athena was found lying with her face down. Wellard rushed to her and dragged her off the ground into his lap. "Thena, Thena? Speak to me, please."  
  
He slapped Athena's face gently and her eyes opened slowly.  
  
"She is alive!" said Dennis in delight.  
  
Once she saw Wellard clearly, she raised her arms and hugged him as tightly as she could. "You're here, you're here......." she said over and over again.  
  
"Yes, I am here. And so are the rest of the Aurors. All of you are going to be saved." said Wellard gently, stroking her hair.  
  
Dennis blushed and looked away.  
  
"Come on, let's get out of here." said Wellard after Athena released him.  
  
He helped Athena up and the three of them walked carefully out of the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
***  
  
Hornblower and his men had finally beat the Death Eaters and made it to the Entrance Hall. Once they were there, they saw the teachers fighting against Bellatrix and her crowd.  
  
"Here we go again," Hornblower muttered. He wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth quickly, took out his gun and pointed it at one of the Death Eaters.  
  
BANG  
  
As the Aurors took over the fight, Mandy screamed to Hornblower, "About time!"  
  
***  
  
Wellard flung open the door at the first floor and revealed an empty classroom. "Okay, no one is around."  
  
He, Athena and Dennis walked across the room and Wellard opened the window. He looked out and saw nothing except grass and a few bushes. He heard gunfire and shouting and knew that they were now not very far away from the front door.  
  
"All right, boy, you and Athena will go through the window and hide in the bushes until the whole thing is over......." said Wellard importantly.  
  
"Dennis, yes. Me, no." said Athena immediately.  
  
"But Thena......."  
  
"No, I say no. I want to stay here. I can't leave you and my parents behind."  
  
"Parents?" asked Wellard in bewilderment.  
  
"I will explain after the whole thing is over."  
  
"But......"  
  
"No buts." said Athena sharply. "The Sorting Hat put me into Gryffindor because I am brave, okay? And I am legally an adult now." she added.  
  
Wellard stared at Athena for a moment and sighed. "All right."  
  
"I want to stay too." said Dennis as loudly as possible.  
  
"No." said Athena and Wellard together.  
  
"You are too young." said Athena firmly.  
  
"I know it is frustrating," said Wellard quickly at the sight of Dennis' disappointed face. "But Athena is right. Come on, let's get you out."  
  
Wellard boosted Dennis (he was quite small for a fourth year) over the window edge. Once Dennis was out of the window, someone shot a spell across Wellard's and Athena's backs and broke a vase at the corner.  
  
Wellard and Athena turned around just in time to see Dolohov sealing the only window in the room shut with his wand.  
  
"The window!" cried Athena.  
  
Wellard stared at Dolohov. Behind him, the door was shut. No doubt that he had sealed it too.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A boy and a girl alone in a room. Not kissing, are you?" said Dolohov and smiled unpleasantly.  
  
Wellard glared at him. "Don't call me boy." he said in a tight voice.  
  
Dolohov's smile disappeared immediately. He gave a glance at the Auror badge on Wellard's chest and pointed his wand at him.  
  
"You maybe an Auror to this girl here," he snarled, nodding curtly to Athena. "but to me, you are just a boy with an Auror badge."  
  
"Where is your wand, Athena?" asked Wellard at the corner of his mouth.  
  
Athena searched her robes for her wand and went pale. "I must have dropped it in the common room!" she hissed.  
  
Dolohov laughed cruelly. "Looks like you two are unarmed."  
  
Wellard quickly reached for his wand.  
  
"ACCIO WAND!" roared Dolohov and Wellard's wand flew to his hand.  
  
To Wellard's and Athena's horror, Dolohov threw it to the floor and stepped on it, snapping it into two. Wellard reached into his robes again.  
  
"No wand, no protection." Dolohov sang.  
  
"Wrong," said Wellard with his gun aiming at Dolohov. His hands were gripping it tightly. "I still have my gun. Surrender or I will shoot."  
  
Athena swallowed as she looked at Wellard's hands. They were trembling slightly.  
  
"Be calm, Terry." whispered Athena.  
  
Dolohov stared at Wellard's gun for a moment but then he smiled. "Give me that gun, boy. You are too young to use it. I bet you are too afraid to shoot me."  
  
"I am no boy, and I am no coward," said Wellard. His voice went louder and steadier as he spoke. "And I am no scarecrow, who has to be tied up so that he won't bite his own shadow!"  
  
BANG  
  
Dolohov's eyes widened after Wellard shot his wand away from his hand.  
  
"See? I am no boy. And you are no man at all to criticise me." said Wellard as calm as possible, and he aimed for Dolohov's chest.  
  
Dolohov was still for a moment before he ran to get his wand which was landed at the end of the room.  
  
BANG  
  
The wand broke as Wellard shot it into half just when Dolohov was about to get it.  
  
"No wand for you either, I afraid." said Wellard slowly. "Now will you surrender?"  
  
"No way." said Dolohov and he threw himself forward at Wellard, knocking his feet off the ground.  
  
****  
  
CRASH  
  
"Why didn't anyone remember to repair that window?" screeched Minerva as she watched a large group of Death Eaters climbing in to get away from the Aurors outside through the window that Macnair had broken earlier.  
  
"Great, if they keep on coming in, we will be short-handed......." said Hornblower sarcastically.  
  
"FIRE!" yelled a voice from above.  
  
A range of gunfire was heard and some of the newcomers dropped dead even before any one could reach them. Hornblower looked up and to his delight; Edrington (who had a long cut across his cheek) and his men were at the second floor with their guns out.  
  
"Told you that I would be all right!" he called as they rushed downstairs.  
  
***  
  
Wellard gasped for air as Dolohov grasped his throat. Athena looked around desperately for anything hard enough to hit Dolohov off Wellard. Then her expression brightened when she saw something at the corner. She ran towards it and grabbed it.  
  
Dolohov laughed as Wellard went weaker and weaker when Athena dashed to him and.....  
  
BANG  
  
......hit his head with a small table. The table cracked and broke into smaller pieces as it connected with Dolohov's head. Wellard's eyes widened as Dolohov loosened his hold. He even forgot to breathe for a moment. He could see a trickle of blood oozed out of his hair before Dolohov fell right on top of him, nearly crushed him with his weight.  
  
Wellard grunted and pushed the Death Eater off him in disgust.  
  
After a few breaths of fresh air, he got up and stared at Dolohov. "Wow, Athena, I think you have knocked him out cold."  
  
"I did?"  
  
Wellard grinned tiredly at her and picked up his gun. He cracked it open and his grin vanished immediately.  
  
"What?" asked Athena.  
  
"Uh oh. Only one bullet left." said Wellard quietly as he closed it.  
  
"What the other one? I thought I saw another gun......"  
  
Wellard dropped his gun and took out the other one. He looked at the magazine and his face went paler than usual. "One."  
  
"Oh no! The guns are our only weapons left and they have only one bullet each!" cried Athena.  
  
BANG  
  
"Open up! We are the Death Eaters and we know you are in there!" Someone yelled from the outside.  
  
"Now what?" asked Athena slowly.  
  
"Okay, you go and try to break out of the window, I will stay."  
  
Athena put her hand onto Wellard's arm. "Not unless you go with me."  
  
"I am not going to run like a frightened child. Like I said before, I am no boy."  
  
Athena went silent for a while and said softly, "And I am no girl. If you want to stay here, I will stay with you."  
  
"Alohomora!" Someone shouted from the outside but still, the door wouldn't budge.  
  
Wellard licked his dry lips and looked at Athena for a long time. She let go of his arm and took his hand.  
  
"You won't regret it if you die? There are Death Eaters out there." said Wellard as quietly as possible.  
  
Without taking her eyes off him, Athena shook her head. Wellard smiled at her slightly. "You are not going to change your mind no matter what I said, right?"  
  
Athena just smiled back.  
  
The shouting outside was starting to get louder and louder.  
  
Wellard took a deep breath and sighed. He picked up his gun and asked: "Thena, do you know how to use a gun?"  
  
"Sort of. I read about using a gun during Muggle Studies but I have never used one in real life."  
  
"All right then," Wellard tossed his gun at her and he held the other one with his right hand. "Just pull the trigger."  
  
Athena caught the gun neatly with her left hand (since she was holding hands with Wellard) and put her finger onto the trigger.  
  
CRASH  
  
A Death Eater broke the glass window on the door and reached hungrily for the doorknob.  
  
"Ready, Thena? When I say 'fire', we'll shoot at the Death Eaters when they come in." said Wellard seriously as he aimed his gun at the door.  
  
Athena nodded bravely and raised her gun to the door as well.  
  
"By the way, Thena......." Wellard began.  
  
Athena turned her head to look at him. "Hm?"  
  
Wellard smiled sweetly. "I love you. I really do."  
  
Athena smiled back and tightened her hold onto Wellard's hand in response.  
  
A loud bang brought the couple's attention back to the door.  
  
"Okay, get ready!" shouted Wellard.  
  
Athena swallowed. Her expression was solemn.  
  
The hand finally got the doorknob and twisted it. When the door flew open, Wellard ordered, "FIRE!"  
  
Athena pressed the trigger and neatly, she shot a Death Eater straight in the chest while Wellard got his target in the forehead.  
  
"Good shot!" said Wellard happily as they threw their guns aside immediately. "At least we got two."  
  
The rest of the Death Eaters stormed in and they pointed their wands at Wellard and Athena coldly.  
  
"VENAS!"  
  
***  
  
"Give me your sword and wand." said Edrington with his Rapier aiming dangerously at the last Death Eater's throat at the Entrance Hall. Bodies of Death Eaters and a few Aurors were all over the floor.  
  
The Death Eater looked at the sword blade with fear and slowly, he removed his sword and wand from his belt and handed it over to Edrington.  
  
Edrington smiled and said, "Thank you," even though he didn't mean it.  
  
"Take him." he said to his men.  
  
"Is that all of them?" asked Hornblower. His arm was wounded.  
  
"I don't think so. I have let a group of these bastards just now at the third floor slipped." said Edrington dryly. He snapped the Death Eater's wand into half and threw it to the floor. "We better look for them before they kill anymore students."  
  
"Pardon me, Philip, but I think we ought to deal with the ones outside first." said Hornblower.  
  
"Why don't you and your men do it? I will take my men and find the goddamn group."  
  
"Very well. By the way, I hope that doesn't leave a scar." said Hornblower, indicating Edrington's cut.  
  
"Hope not." said Edrington absentmindedly, gathered his men and ran for the stairs.  
  
Minerva went to the front door. With a single spell, she opened the door.  
  
Outside the castle, Pellew and his men had won over Lucius Malfoy and his men, which were only a handful. When the door opened, Pellew noticed that the Death Eaters had been defeated in the castle.  
  
Hornblower nodded and his men raised their swords, (some with guns or wands) at the remaining Death Eaters. The teachers held their wands tiredly but firmly at them.  
  
Pellew smiled victoriously and asked politely, "Mr Malfoy, may I have your sword and wand as a mark of surrender?"  
  
As he did, the Aurors outside the castle pointed their weapons at Lucius and his men as well.  
  
Seeing that he had nowhere to run, Lucius just glared at Pellew with resent and reached unwillingly for his sword.  
  
***  
  
Athena and Wellard lay together on the cold floor, side by side with blood oozing out of their wounds. The Death Eaters who injured them had gone elsewhere, thinking that the two would die there anyway.  
  
"They won't get away," said Wellard confidently and feebly. A thin line of blood came out of the corner of his mouth. "The rest of the Aurors will get them."  
  
"I hope so." said Athena quietly. Her face was pale and there were blood at the corner of her mouth too.  
  
Wellard shifted painfully and put his arm over Athena. He pulled her closer and she rested her head on his chest.  
  
"I don't like this," said Athena bitterly. "I hate the Death Eaters. If my brother dies in this battle, he would never get a chance to make up with Mom."  
  
"I am sure he will be okay." said Wellard, hoping that what he had said was true.  
  
"Terry?"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"What do you think heaven is like?"  
  
"Don't know, but it must be very peaceful."  
  
Athena put her arm over Wellard's waist and said nothing.  
  
"How I wish I could spend an entire year with Achilles," she said finally. "The longest time I have spent with him is two months."  
  
Wellard wanted to respond when he heard Pellew yelling from the Entrance Hall. "Listen."  
  
He and Athena listened carefully as Pellew roared, "Three cheers for us!"  
  
"Looks like we have defeated the Death Eaters." said Wellard in delight as three cries of 'Hip, hip, hoorah' were heard.  
  
"Good, then we, we........" said Athena, her voice was getting weak. "we, can rest in peace."  
  
Wellard smiled lovingly. "Right."  
  
"Terry, do you know what my last wish is?"  
  
"I know you want Achilles to make up with your mother." said Wellard quietly, after he realized that using his voice in the normal volume was too exhausting.  
  
"Right. And um, Terry?"  
  
"What?"  
  
Athena lifted her head up with great effort to look at Wellard. "I love you too." she whispered and her breathing was starting to get shallow.  
  
He smiled again. "Go now, Thena, I will join you soon."  
  
Athena gave Wellard a final smile before she closed her eyes. She sighed gently and her head drooped slightly.  
  
Wellard's face was emotionless. He gazed at Athena for quite a while before he kissed her head lightly. He tightened his grip onto Athena with his remaining strength and closed his eyes as he listened to the noises at the Entrance Hall as Pellew led the Aurors up the stairs to find the surviving students.  
  
And he kept on listening until his heart stopped beating. 


	24. Aftermath

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
Disclaimer 3: Some of lines and scenes come from "Hornblower: Retribution" so you may find them familiar, and I certainly don't own them.  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Liz O'Brien- No, I don't mind you for trying to get over Terrence and Athena's deaths. I love them too, really...  
  
Crystalunicorn14- Like I said to Liz, I love Wellard and Athena too but that's how the story goes.. Unfortunately, Athena IS dead and there is a reason why Athena has to die...and no, this is not the end. Achilles still has to make up with Minerva.  
  
PrincessWitch- Err.. Like Dumbledore said in GoF, "No spell can awaken the dead." I love them too, (especially Wellard, he is so sweet in "Hornblower".) but I can't bring them back and like I said to crystalunicorn14, there is a reason why Athena has to die. Really, I would love to bring them back but I can't.  
  
Chapter 24: Aftermath  
  
Although the battle was over, the hospital wing was still very busy. After the fight in the Entrance Hall, the female teachers came to the hospital wing to help Poppy. The place was beyond recognition. The clean white walls were stained with dust (due to the bomb blast) and stains of blood. Students with injuries were all over the place and the amount increased as the Aurors brought them in. People like Bush who were badly wounded were attended by Healers from St Mungo's (they arrived after Pellew informed them about the attack a few moments later after the Death Eaters' surrender).  
  
"Mandy, get some of the purple potion over here!" screamed Poppy as she examined a student who had a bad burn on his chest.  
  
"There is not much of it left!" said Mandy frantically as she searched the cabinet for extra bottles of the purple potion. There was a long cut on her hand and she winced as she continued searching.  
  
"I don't care, just get it here!" snapped Poppy.  
  
"How bad am I?" asked a student to Minerva as she tried to comfort her. Her arm was severely damaged.  
  
"It's okay, you are going to fine." said Minerva. Stains of dried blood were on her robes, but that was nothing compared to the wound on her arm.  
  
"I don't want to die......" the girl whispered.  
  
"You are not going to." said Minerva firmly.  
  
"This one is too serious, let's get him back to St Mungo's." said a Healer to his colleague about Bush's injury. His back and chest were slashed by two Death Eaters.  
  
Bush looked around weakly for Wellard. He didn't see him since the battle started; he didn't see him when it was over either, even though he did see Hornblower and the others. Now he was not even in the hospital wing.  
  
"Excuse me, Sir, but did you see a young handsome Auror with a pale, slight freckled face, short brown hair and brown eyes? And oh yes, he has a bit of overbite too."  
  
The Healer thought for a while. "Don't think so. Did you?" he asked another Healer.  
  
"There are too many patients around, I can't remember all of them." said the other Healer simply. "Come on, let's get you out of here."  
  
"Terrence can't be dead, can he?" thought Bush as the Healers lifted him gently to a stretcher.  
  
Little did Bush know that he was damn accurate.  
  
***  
  
Poppy was busily wrapped another student's arm with a thick badge when Lupin called weakly, "M-Madam Pomfrey?"  
  
"What?" asked Poppy absentmindedly.  
  
"W-we, we lost another one." said Lupin sorrowfully. Tears were slowly rolling down his cheeks. There was blood on his robes and his cheek, where he got a small cut.  
  
Poppy froze.  
  
Lupin stared at her grimly.  
  
Poppy turned around and saw him holding a girl's hand. The girl's eyes were closed and large amount of blood was on her neck, even though it was wrapped with badges. Poppy gave the girl a long stare before she swallowed and took a deep breath.  
  
"T-take her over there." she said, her voice shook as she pointed at the pile of bodies at the corner.  
  
Lupin nodded slightly and he carried the girl up with his arms. Trying not to cry out loud, Poppy returned to her work.  
  
Lupin gently placed the girl neatly on top of the students' and Aurors' dead bodies, even though he knew that the girl couldn't feel anymore. He stared at the bodies at a long time and sighed deeply.  
  
"The situation outside must be as terrible as here." he thought.  
  
***  
  
Lupin was half right, the situation was terrible, but it was twice as bad as inside.  
  
The castle was hideous with its broken windows and collapsed walls and roofs. Students who couldn't escape from the Death Eaters' attack were found dead everywhere, even in the lake. Student who managed to escape from the Death Eaters' clutches were now sitting at the lawn near the lake, where Dumbledore, the other male teachers (except Lupin) and a few Aurors were standing. The Slytherins had disappeared, which was lucky for them because the whole school would kill them if they dared to show up.  
  
Some of the Aurors were rowing out to the lake, scooping out bodies and hopefully, students who were still alive. Most of the students did not drown; they were killed by Death Eaters and threw into the lake. Blood was dying the lake red and there were so much bodies that the Aurors almost couldn't row through them.  
  
Dumbledore sighed sadly and watched as the Aurors dragged another lifeless body out of the lake and into their boat. The students were silent with shock and sadness. Some of them couldn't even bear to watch the place where they used to call school. Matthews had brought the students back from Honeydukes and left them with the rest of the school.  
  
"I am sorry that we didn't come earlier, Professor." said Pellew quietly. He looked okay, except that his robes were torn.  
  
"At least you did come." said Dumbledore, who looked perfectly fine except for his robes, which looked crumpled. "How many casualties is there, Edward?"  
  
After asking the question, he realized that he didn't need to know.  
  
"Not sure, but judging by the state of this, I say, maybe about," Pellew swallowed. "200? Not counting the casualties inside."  
  
"Oh Merlin." Dumbledore muttered as he watched Healers loading patients into their St Mungo's ambulances.  
  
***  
  
"All right, Achilles, you and your men searched this room. Archie, Horatio, I and our men will search this big room." said Edrington as two of his men walked past him, carrying an injured student to the hospital wing.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"By the way, can't you do something about your heel?" asked Edrington, indicating Achilles's heel, which blood was flowing out of his boot.  
  
"Later. Besides, I won't die of it like the real Achilles." said Achilles and he grinned.  
  
"Come on, Archie, hurry up." said Hornblower as Edrington opened the door of a room.  
  
"Okay, okay......" said Kennedy as he walked in a faster pace, his arm was wound around his stomach tightly.  
  
Once Edrington opened the door, he saw two dead Death Eaters.  
  
"Oh great." he muttered sarcastically and mercilessly, he kicked them aside. Then he looked around the room before he saw something else.  
  
"Uh oh." he mumbled, without any sarcastic note in his voice and he stared.  
  
"What?" asked Hornblower.  
  
As he did, Kennedy lagged along behind. He then leaned on the wall, panting heavily.  
  
"What?" asked Hornblower again.  
  
Wordlessly, Edrington raised his hand and pointed. Hornblower leaned forward to see. Kennedy (with great difficulty) followed suit.  
  
The two Aurors' mouths dropped open at the sight of Wellard and Athena.  
  
"Oh my, Terrence." whispered Kennedy.  
  
"Who is that girl he was holding?" asked Hornblower.  
  
"That must be Athena, you know, his girlfriend." said Kennedy weakly.  
  
"Not only that. She is Achilles's sister." said Edrington slowly.  
  
Hornblower thought for a while. "Oh shit, Terrence did tell me that Athena is in trouble. He must have slipped off from my group to save her and ended up......." he trailed off, wouldn't bear to continue.  
  
"What were you doing when he told you?" asked Edrington.  
  
"I was about to answer him when the Death Eaters attacked my group. We were fighting them off......."  
  
"Well, let's get them out before Achilles sees........" began Edrington and two Aurors went forward to break Athena and Wellard apart so that they could put them on two stretchers.  
  
"See what?" a voice asked from behind.  
  
Edrington and Hornblower froze at Achilles's voice. They turned around quickly and ran to the entrance, blocking Achilles's view.  
  
"Achilles, do not go in there." said Edrington seriously.  
  
"Why?" asked Achilles in bewilderment. "Is it very horrible in there?"  
  
"Um, yeah!" said Edrington.  
  
Hornblower nodded vigorously in agreement.  
  
Achilles stared at Edrington for a moment before he blew out a breath. "Oh please, if you can take it, so can I. You are the one who throw up at the sight of a beheaded wizard last year, remember?"  
  
Edrington frowned at the memory. He hated to be reminded of it. "That was a long time ago, I am getting better now."  
  
"Oh come on, let me see it." said Achilles impatiently.  
  
"Sir, we couldn't tear them apart!" reported an Auror.  
  
"Shush!" said Edrington sharply while Hornblower went pale.  
  
"Them? So there are two or more bodies in there?" asked Achilles and he hopped in front of his best friend to get a clear view of what was inside.  
  
"Yes, I mean, no!" said Edrington in panic.  
  
Achilles raised an eyebrow at him. Edrington tried hard not to blink.  
  
"Okay, fine." said Achilles and started to look disappointed.  
  
Edrington gave a mental sigh of relief.  
  
Suddenly, Achilles grinned and pushed Edrington and Hornblower to get them out of his way.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"Ha! Didn't you know about Wronski Feint?" said Achilles happily as he looked at the stunned faces.  
  
He turned around to see the reason why Edrington and Hornblower were so jumpy. His grin vanished immediately.  
  
"I tried to stop you." said Edrington quietly.  
  
THUD  
  
Achilles's knees hit the floor as he stared at Athena and Wellard blankly. He reached out to touch Athena's pale face and it was stiff. Then he quickly put his hand on Wellard's wound. The blood was dry, which meant the both of them had been dead for quite a while.  
  
"You are joking, right?" asked Achilles, trying to smile.  
  
Edrington shook his head. "They were like this when we found them." he added.  
  
Achilles turned his attention back to Athena and Wellard. "Oh Merlin, what will Mom and Dad say?"  
  
"Sir, how are we going to lift them to the stretchers?" asked an Auror and Hornblower rolled his eyes in annoyance at the Auror's words.  
  
"Try to separate them again, I guess." said Edrington.  
  
"W-wait! Don't touch my sister!" snapped Achilles. "She won't like it."  
  
"Achilles........" started Edrington helplessly and shut up when Achilles glared at him.  
  
"I will do it." said Achilles and put his hand onto his sister's.  
  
He turned his back to the rest of the Aurors so that they wouldn't see him weeping.  
  
***  
  
After a few minutes, Achilles managed to separate Athena and Wellard apart and he put them onto two stretchers.  
  
"Hm, take them away, Sir?" asked an Auror timidly.  
  
"Just a second." said Achilles and he gave Athena his first and last brotherly kiss. "I will make up with Mom, I promise, okay?" he whispered.  
  
He stood up and watched as the Aurors covered Athena and Wellard with two white cloths.  
  
"All right, one, two, three, lift!" ordered an Auror and they carried the two bodies up.  
  
After some of the Aurors left the room, Edrington patted Achilles's shoulder.  
  
"Achilles, are you okay?" he asked in concern.  
  
"Yeah, I am fine." said Achilles as he blinked furiously to prevent himself from crying again.  
  
"Go ahead and cry, nobody is stopping you." said Edrington.  
  
Achilles stopped blinking and after a while, tears were streaming down his cheeks.  
  
"I am sorry, Achilles, I really am." said Edrington and he put his arm around Achilles's shoulders and patted him.  
  
Achilles just sniffed and didn't respond.  
  
"Poor Achilles." Kennedy mumbled, who was still leaning on the wall and his arm had released his stomach.  
  
"Yeah......" said Hornblower and frowned when he saw blood on his friend's robes. "Archie, is that your blood?"  
  
Suddenly Hornblower realized how pale Kennedy looked. Beads of sweat were breaking out at his forehead.  
  
"J-just a scratch......." Kennedy replied but his voice sounded weak and strange. "B-by the way, is this, the, the l-last room?" he asked, sounded as if he had difficulty speaking.  
  
"I said is that your blood!" Hornblower demanded and ripped open Kennedy's robes.  
  
Kennedy clutched his teeth in pain while Hornblower watched in horror at his wound. There were lots and lots of blood on Kennedy's stomach and it was staining his skin and robes. The cut was so deep that if it went any further, it might cut Kennedy into half.  
  
"Archie, why didn't you tell us that............." began Hornblower.  
  
Kennedy tried to smile. "It's not as bad as it looks." he said and gurgled.  
  
Hornblower watched in shock as his best friend spat blood onto his shoulder, and he collapsed into his arms.  
  
***  
  
The female teachers came to the lawn and some of the students gaped at their awful state. Bloods were spattered onto their robes and they looked as if they had walked through the Forbidden Forest because of their messy hairstyles.  
  
"I still didn't see Athena, where do you think she is?" whispered Hermione to Ginny (Ron found her along the way back to the Room of Requirement)  
  
Ginny shrugged.  
  
"How bad?" asked Dumbledore tiredly to Minerva.  
  
"100 dead, 50 injured. Oh I just hope that the 50 of them will hang through, we have lost enough already......." said Minerva sadly. "By the way, where's Athena?"  
  
Dumbledore frowned. "I thought she is with you."  
  
Minerva went white. "No........" she turned her head sharply at the Gryffindors.  
  
"Has anyone of you seen Athena?"  
  
The Gryffindors whispered to each other when an Auror came to Pellew and reported, "Sir, we found two more casualties on the first floor classroom. One student and one Auror, they are dead."  
  
"Oh God." whispered Minerva, looking as if she was going to faint.  
  
"Who is the Auror?" asked Pellew.  
  
"It's young Mr Wellard, Sir."  
  
"Wellard?!" shrieked Mandy, Georgia and Minerva.  
  
"Oh Merlin, Athena would be upset." said Dumbledore, shaking his head.  
  
"And the student?" demanded Pellew.  
  
"I don't know who she is, Sir."  
  
"Professor, should I ask my man to take the student out so that you can identify her?" asked Pellew.  
  
Dumbledore swallowed and nodded slightly.  
  
"Well, go and bring her out."  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
A few moments later, the Aurors carried a stretcher out to the lawn. As they brought the body closer, Minerva noticed a hand was hanging limply out of the cloth and there was some sort of bracelet around the wrist.  
  
It was not until the Aurors lowered the body before Minerva realized what the thing around it was. It was a golden, thin bracelet with a red crystal heart dangling from it. Wait a minute, Athena had the same bracelet, Dumbledore gave it to her during her tenth birthday.......  
  
Minerva stared at the white cloth and shook her head slowly. "Oh no, it can't be......." she said in fear.  
  
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
Minerva ignored her husband and kneeled down beside the body quickly. With her hand trembling, she lifted the white cloth and pulled it slowly away from the girl's face.  
  
After she did, she sat down on the grass while Mandy and Georgia gasped in horror. Some of the girls shrieked. Dumbledore was still. Pellew's eyes widened.  
  
Athena was lying on the stretcher.  
  
"Oh my Goodness......."  
  
Just like Achilles, Minerva lifted her head to Pellew and asked, "Is this some kind of joke?"  
  
"Professor, I would never joke about a thing like this!"  
  
Minerva blinked at him. "You wouldn't?"  
  
Pellew shook his head slowly.  
  
Minerva stared at Athena's face for a while before she put her hand onto her daughter's shoulder and shook her gently. "Athena?"  
  
Dumbledore swallowed and kneeled down beside his wife. "Minerva........"  
  
"Athena, stop playing and speak with your mother......."  
  
"Minerva, it is no use......." said Dumbledore, his voice breaking.  
  
Minerva continued to ignore her husband. "Come on, Athena......." she said, her voice getting weaker.  
  
"Minerva, it is no use," repeated Dumbledore, a drop of tear was rolling down his cheek. "She's gone."  
  
"She's not gone!" snapped Minerva as she turned to look at him with tears in her eyes.  
  
Dumbledore didn't respond and just stared at her.  
  
Minerva turned back to Athena and slowly, she pulled Athena to a sitting position and hugged her. Her head just leaned onto her mother's chest lifelessly. "She's not dead........" whispered Minerva as she rocked back and fro.  
  
Snape looked away. Pellew sighed. Hagrid was blinking furiously. Mandy's and Georgia's shoulders were shaking as they sobbed. Hermione and some of the students were crying. Even the sky showed its grief by darkened itself and a cold, gentle wind blew through the air.  
  
Minerva kissed her daughter on the forehead, just like she always did when Athena was just a baby. As she wept, Dumbledore putted his arm around Minerva's shoulders and pulled her close while he used his other hand to hold his daughter's. He kissed it.  
  
"Should we take her away now, Sir?" asked an Auror to Pellew.  
  
Pellew glared at him which meant, "Shut up."  
  
"Sorry, Sir."  
  
"She's gone, Minerva." said Dumbledore sadly. "Y-you have to let her go now, the Aurors are going to take her away."  
  
"No......." whispered Minerva and held Athena tighter. She sounded as if she had a cold. "I want to hold her longer."  
  
With a word, Dumbledore let her while he continued to hold Athena's cold hand. After a long while, Pellew broke the sad silence. "Um, Professor......"  
  
"Minerva, it's time." said Dumbledore, his voice choked with emotion.  
  
He unwillingly let go of his daughter's hand and stood up. Minerva still refused to release Athena.  
  
"Minerva, please......."  
  
Minerva sniffed and kissed her daughter for the last time before she released her and lowered her back to the stretcher. She then put Athena's arms neatly back to her sides and pulled the cloth up to her chest, as if she was just helping Athena to get to bed.  
  
"There." said Minerva quietly and she stood up.  
  
Pellew cleared his throat and waved his hand at Athena, for he was unable to say a word. The Aurors understood him and walked forward to the stretcher. They silently lifted Athena up and everyone watched as they carried her away.  
  
Dumbledore putted his hand onto Minerva's shoulder. Minerva turned to him and she put her arms around him and started sobbing, just like what she did when Poppy had cracked up years ago. 


	25. Achilles Feels the Pain,Twice

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
NOTE 2: This chapter and the next one will be dark  
  
Note 3: I don't care if JKR kills Sirius off, I want him to be alive and here he is.  
  
NOTE 4: IF ANY OF YOU WONDER WHAT DOES WELLARD LOOKS LIKE BUT YOU HAVE NEVER WATCHED "HORNBLOWER" BEFORE, GO TO MY PROFILE AND CLICK THE LINKS UNDER FAVOURITE PICTURES. HE'S A CUTIE!  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Jestana and Liz O'Brien- Achilles will make up with Minerva in the next chapter.  
  
Lemondropaddict- Unfortunately, Athena is dead and I can't bring her back.  
  
Kate: Thank you  
  
Princesswitch: Err, this chapter is not a happy one, but I am sure the next one is better.  
  
Chapter 25: Achilles Feels the Pain..Twice  
  
HOGWARTS UNDER ATTACK! OVER 200 STUDENTS KILLED!  
  
That was the headline of the Daily Prophet.  
  
Oliver Wood read on urgently and carefully on the four-page article, featuring the school's attack. Jonathan was looking over his shoulder, too impatient to wait for him to finish. Katie was carrying her son Jonny and asked anxiously, "Anything on Grandma?"  
  
"The only thing they said about the school staff was that all of them are safe..." said Oliver slowly.  
  
Katie still looked worried. "What about our younger friends? Like Harry, Ron and Hermione?"  
  
"Nothing. They only said that the students who survived the tragedy were sent home this early morning." said Oliver.  
  
CRACK  
  
Jonathan turned around and saw Mandy, looking very tired and untidy with her bloody robes.  
  
"Grandma!" cried Oliver and Katie happily.  
  
"Mandy, Mandy, you are back!" said Jonathan in delight as he rushed over to hug her. "Oh I was so worried..."  
  
Mandy just returned the hug slightly.  
  
"Grandma, we are so glad that you are home, are you hungry? Need I to get anything?" asked Katie, smiling.  
  
Mandy just walked slowly to the kitchen table and sat down. She had an expression on her face that reminded Jonathan of Poppy in her unstable condition years ago after William died.  
  
"Grandma?" asked Katie, her smile faded. "A-are you okay?"  
  
"I-I am fine," said Mandy, her voice was thick with emotion.  
  
Suddenly, she placed her face in her hand and started to cry.  
  
"Grandma? What's wrong?" asked Oliver in alarm.  
  
"Mandy?"  
  
"Oh M-Merlin! I s-still can't b-believe it!" said Mandy loudly, her voice trembled as she cried.  
  
"What?" asked Jonathan.  
  
"S-she's dead, she's dead!"  
  
"Who?" asked Jonathan in horror.  
  
Mandy didn't answer, instead she lowered her head, buried her face in her arms and continued crying.  
  
***  
  
Sirius knocked on Harry's room in his house (not Grimmauld Place, Sirius and Harry were now living in the house where Sirius used to live before he was arrested).  
  
"Harry?"  
  
No response.  
  
"Harry, are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah." replied a lifeless voice.  
  
"All right then." said Sirius and left, thinking that Harry might want to be alone after what had happened yesterday.  
  
Harry was sitting on the floor and leaning on his bed as he held a photo. He sighed and stared sorrowfully at a photo of all the 7th year Gryffindors, especially the girl with auburn hair and blue eyes.  
  
***  
  
At the Grangers', Hermione was staring at a photo too, but this one was not a class photo but a photo of Athena and herself in Diagon Alley, eating ice cream cones.  
  
"I am going to miss you." she muttered as she ran her fingers across the photo.  
  
***  
  
"Oh My Goodness...." said Fred as he read the article over and over again at the Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes.  
  
He was so obsessed with the newspaper that he accidentally put a whole of Ton-Tongue Toffees into the box of Canary Creams with his other hand.  
  
"Fred, be careful." said George flatly at the counter, not quite in a cheery mood after he read the article.  
  
"AH! Darn!" cursed Fred as he threw down the newspaper to the floor. "This is the fifth time that I made a mistake! I can't concentrate on my work after reading this!"  
  
"I suggest we go home and see Ron and Ginny if they are okay." said George with the same tone.  
  
"Fine."  
  
***  
  
"Mom, Ginny doesn't want to come down, she is too upset to eat her lunch." said Ron quietly at the Burrow.  
  
Mrs Weasley sighed and looked at the ceiling, as if she could see Ginny's bedroom through that. "Do you think she will be okay by tomorrow?"  
  
Ron shook his head grimly. "I don't think so, it's not easy to forget your friend's death."  
  
"True," said Mrs Weasley. "Well, what about you, Ron? Do you want to have your lunch?"  
  
Ron looked at his favourite dish on the table for a long time before he said, "I, I think I have lost my appetite too. I'm going to my room."  
  
And he went to his room and shut himself in.  
  
***  
  
Lupin was taking a shower at home. He watched silently as the water washed away the blood, his students' blood, from his skin. Thinking the tragedy, he sat down on the cold floor and leaned against the white wall. He lifted his head, closed his eyes and sighed deeply.  
  
***  
  
Poppy and Georgia were sitting in the Three Broomsticks, with 2 tall bottles of Vodka and Gin on their table. But none of them seem to have the mood to drink them.  
  
***  
  
No matter how shock and upset the whole wizarding world was, the feelings were nothing compared to Minerva's.  
  
Once she (Dumbledore still needed to settle a few things in the school and Ministry) got home, she went upstairs and to Athena's bedroom.  
  
She stared at the bedroom door for a moment before she opened it. The door swung open easily and she walked in slowly, looking at the surroundings as she did.  
  
The room was painted in light blue-green. The curtains were light blue, closed tightly together since their owner was not at home. Minerva went to the window and pushed them apart as slow as possible. Bright sunlight filled the room immediately. Minerva looked down at Athena's well-kept desk and saw a framed photo of Achilles (the one that Athena found in the attic), Athena herself, her and Dumbledore, the Hogwarts Sisters, and a few of her friends.  
  
Right in the middle of the desk, there was another stack of photos and an empty photo frame. Curiously, Minerva picked the photos up and looked through it. It was the photos of Athena and Wellard during the holidays.  
  
There were photos of Athena and Wellard flying a kite, Wellard sleeping under a tree, Athena sitting on the grass, looking as if she was very bored, the couple making funny faces, Wellard standing on a sailboat's bow, with his arms around Athena as they enjoyed the wind blowing at their faces...and lots more.  
  
Then there was a photo of them with their arms around each other. There was a paper clipped on it saying, "Put this in frame". Looks like Athena wanted to put the photo into the frame. But she would never get a chance to do it now.  
  
Minerva sighed and sat down at the desk. She removed the paper and slipped the photo neatly into the frame. If Athena couldn't do it, she would do it for her. Smiling slightly when she was done, Minerva put the frame with the rest of the collection. She then opened the drawer under the desk to put the rest in.  
  
After that, Minerva's depressed mood was back as she stared at her daughter's photos. She got up and walked to the closet, where Athena kept her clothes. She opened it and saw robes, T-shirts, jumpers, jeans, shorts, dresses, hats and....  
  
Minerva gasped when she saw what was sitting on the pile of shirts. She bended down and picked up a small, cuddly teddy bear. The bear was light brown, with a small blue bow around its neck and a very realistic smile. Its nose was black and its eyes were big and chocolate brown.  
  
"I remember this! I gave it to Athena when she was..when she was four.."  
  
Minerva sat down on Athena's bed with the bear in her hands. She remembered what happened when she gave the bear...  
  
***  
  
"Oh Mommy, I love it!" said the four-year-old Athena when Minerva gave the bear to her during her birthday.  
  
"Glad that you are." said Minerva, smiling.  
  
"Any names for it?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
"I think I will name it...." Athena thought for a while as she held the bear's hands. "Um.... I think I will just call it Teddy."  
  
"Whatever you like."  
  
"Mommy, can I sleep with Teddy at night, please?"  
  
Minerva frowned a little. "No."  
  
Athena pouted. "Oh pretty please, Mommy, please..." she pleaded, still hugging the bear.  
  
"Come on, Minerva." said Dumbledore, grinning.  
  
"Okay, all right." said Minerva unwillingly but she smiled when Athena danced around with the bear happily.  
  
At night, Athena snuggled comfortably in her bed as Minerva covered her with the blanket.  
  
After she read the story of the Goddess Athena herself and the maiden Arachne (Athena enjoyed listening the stories of the Goddess who shared the same name as her), Athena said sweetly, "Mommy, thank you for giving me Teddy."  
  
Minerva smiled lovingly.  
  
"I think I will keep it forever." said Athena seriously.  
  
"We'll see about that when you grow up." said Minerva and kissed her daughter goodnight.  
  
***  
  
Tears rolled down Minerva's cheeks as she reminisced the past. She brought the bear close to her heart and buried her face on top of its head as she sobbed.  
  
***  
  
Achilles was staring absentmindedly at the statue of Minerva in his apartment (Pellew excused him, since he thought Achilles needed some time- off to get over Athena's death). If he had not mistaken, that statue was beginning to look more and more like Athena.......  
  
"Achilles? Achilles!" yelled Edrington urgently at the fireplace.  
  
Achilles snapped out of his trance and went to the fireplace. "What?"  
  
"You better come quick to St Mungo's." said Edrington seriously.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It's Archie, he's dying."  
  
***  
  
Achilles ran to the witch in St Mungo's reception area a few minutes later and demanded, "I am looking for Archie Kennedy!"  
  
"Oh, looking for Mr Kennedy, are you? He is at fourth floor, second door on the right. Poor boy, he is going to die.."  
  
Achilles rushed to the stairs and ran up, ignoring his legs' protests. He arrived at the fourth floor and dashed straight to the second door on the right. He went in and saw Hornblower, Edrington and Bush (who looked rather pale because he had not completely recovered from his own injury) surrounding a bed. Hornblower was sitting on a chair beside the bed, staring at Kennedy.  
  
Achilles walked slowly over and saw Kennedy on his bed, whose looks now was a big contrast to his usual appearance. Usually he looked very healthy, with a bit of baby fat in his handsome face. His baby blue eyes used to look alert and attractive. His blond hair was neat and well-groomed. Now his face was as white as chalk and a little thin. His hair was slightly tousled. Even his eyes looked rather lifeless. Badges were wrapped over his stomach but there were still blood on them.  
  
When Kennedy saw Achilles, he smiled weakly and said, "Hey there, Achilles, it's nice of you to come and see me."  
  
"Are you okay, Archie?" asked Achilles anxiously.  
  
Kennedy laughed feebly. "Didn't you know? I am dying."  
  
"You are not going to die, Archie." said Hornblower firmly.  
  
Kennedy closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. "Yes I am. Didn't you hear the Healer, Horatio? He says that he had done his best."  
  
Hornblower didn't respond.  
  
Kennedy looked fondly at everyone. "It's really good to have all of you here to see me off. Well, except Terence of course, but I am going to see him and his girlfriend soon anyway."  
  
"Archie...." started Hornblower helplessly.  
  
Kennedy held up his hand weakly to stop Hornblower from talking. Hornblower shut up immediately.  
  
"I don't mind dying, really.."  
  
"You are not going to die, Archie. Look, why don't I send you to some better place for treatment?" suggested Edrington.  
  
"Don't waste your money on me, Philip. If it is the time for me to die, I will die. No point trying to avoid it." said Kennedy and he smiled.  
  
"But..."  
  
Kennedy looked at Edrington determinedly and he shut up as well.  
  
The rest looked very gloomy.  
  
Kennedy grinned a little as grinning too much was getting tiring. "It's a good thing that the Healer let visitors in."  
  
Suddenly his grin faded and said softly but seriously, "At least I get to see all of you one last time..."  
  
He smiled again and his friends made an effort to smile back. He sighed a little and closed his eyes.  
  
"Archie?" asked Hornblower anxiously, his smile disappeared immediately.  
  
Kennedy didn't respond. Instead, his head dropped slightly to the left.  
  
Edrington looked away.  
  
Bush was blinking furiously.  
  
Achilles sighed deeply.  
  
Hornblower shed a few tears silently and patted Kennedy's hand. "Goodbye, Archie."  
  
***  
  
"Take him away." said the Healer grimly a few minutes later.  
  
His colleagues lifted Kennedy up steadily and putted him on a stretcher. Then they covered him with the white cloth. They lifted the stretcher and quietly, they brought his body out of the ward.  
  
"I'm really sorry." said the Healer before he left.  
  
A minute later after the Healers left, the Aurors proceeded to leave the place as well.  
  
At the corridor, Edrington leaned forward and whispered, "William (This is William Bush, not William Potter)?"  
  
"Yes?" asked Bush as he walked slowly.  
  
"Just look after him, will you?" said Edrington quietly, indicating the grief-stricken Hornblower, who was walking with his head slightly down.  
  
Bush nodded.  
  
***  
  
At night, Achilles was sitting on his armchair at the balcony at his flat. He had a cigarette in his mouth and a glass of Firewhiskey in his hand. After a few puffs of smoke, he removed his cigarette and held it with his fingers.  
  
He sighed sorrowfully and thought about the last two weeks. Yesterday, he lost Athena and Wellard, now Kennedy was gone as well.  
  
Kennedy was his good friend, the popular one, the bright spot of the whole Auror Headquarters. He was a happy-go-lucky kind of man and had a very good sense of humour. He also loved a good party so whenever there was a good event, he would grab a couple of Butterbeer bottles and started celebrating. He was so nice and adorable that he was won first in Witch Weekly's Most Charming Auror award.  
  
But now that he was dead, the Auror Headquarters were going to be awfully quiet and dull. Achilles was sure that he would miss him.  
  
Wellard was quite a nice young lad. Well, he could be cowardly sometimes, but when it came to friends, he would stand up for them no matter what. He was very loyal and knew where his loyalties suppose to be. He was likeable and serious in his work. Achilles could see that he could become a good Auror if it wasn't for his misfortune.  
  
But the person he was going to miss the most was Athena. He didn't get to know her better; he didn't even spend an entire year with her. The happiest time he had spent with her was when he was 17. He would miss her smile, her behaviour and even her frown.  
  
His heart hurt as he remembered her smile. Mandy and Georgia told him that his mother didn't want him to be an Auror because she didn't want to lose him like how they lost William Potter.  
  
Now he knew how painful it was to lose the one you loved. 


	26. Making Up

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Chapter 26: Making Up  
  
For the next few days, Minerva lay in her bed, with the sheets covering her entire body, leaving only her head to be visible.  
  
She refused to talk to anyone, not even her husband.  
  
She didn't want to eat or drink anything either.  
  
Sometimes she just stared at the photos of Achilles and Athena that she brought from Athena's bedroom for a while before she broke down and started crying. For the past 20 years, she had lost two beloved children, one dead and one missing.  
  
At night, when she stayed awake, she could see her younger self carrying baby Athena at the corner of the room, singing a lullaby as she rocked Athena to sleep.  
  
Even in her dreams, she dreamt of herself, Athena, Achilles and Dumbledore at the picnic during the A-Maying. She also dreamt of Athena during her time travel in 1950 and 1983.  
  
She dreamt of Athena and Achilles so much that she often found her face full of tears stains when she woke up.  
  
She missed her children.  
  
And she wished Achilles would come home.  
  
***  
  
Minerva missed her children so much that she pined away and finally, she fell ill.  
  
One day, when Dumbledore offered Minerva her medicine, she shook her head.  
  
"Minerva, you have to eat your medicine to get well." said Dumbledore desperately.  
  
Minerva shook her head again. "I won't get well, Albus. No medicine will heal me."  
  
Dumbledore swallowed and put the medicine down at the table beside the bed. He sat down beside the bed and studied Minerva's face carefully. She looked weak and pale. Her hair was untied and spread out all over the pillow. But despite all that, she still looked beautiful.  
  
She asked quietly, "How could this happen, Albus?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"How could the Goddess Artemis take away our children? What have we done wrong?"  
  
Dumbledore couldn't say anything. Finally, he said, "Maybe Artemis didn't take Achilles away. I mean, he is missing doesn't mean that he is dead as well."  
  
"But we have never heard of him for 20 years! I even asked young Wellard whether he had heard of Achilles, and he said that he doesn't know!" said Minerva and suddenly, she started coughing violently.  
  
"Minerva, don't get yourself too excited......." said Dumbledore anxiously and quickly.  
  
Minerva continued to cough and she covered her mouth with her white handkerchief.  
  
"I will go and get you a glass of water." said Dumbledore and got up.  
  
With her handkerchief still covering her mouth, Minerva reached out and grasped her husband's hand.  
  
"Don't leave me, Albus," she pleaded, her voice muffled. "I don't want to be alone."  
  
Dumbledore obeyed and sat down. "Are you sure you don't want anything, Minerva?" he asked in concern.  
  
Minerva shook her head and slowly, she removed her handkerchief.  
  
Dumbledore gasped in horror when he saw what was on it.  
  
Blood.  
  
Minerva actually coughed out blood.  
  
"Yes, that is something I want," said Minerva weakly as she wiped away the blood on her lower lip. "I want to see Achilles."  
  
***  
  
"I don't know what to do to help Minerva!" cried Dumbledore sadly in the Woods' at night after he was sure that Minerva was asleep.  
  
He rubbed his temples as if they hurt. Jonathan and Mandy looked at each other. Oliver and Katie were upstairs, getting their babies to bed.  
  
"Look, Albus, why don't you just get Achilles to come home? I mean, he can't be so heartless to left his mother died.' suggested Jonathan.  
  
Dumbledore lifted his face and looked at Jonathan helplessly. "I can't, Minerva needs me now. I feel bad enough just to come here and leave her alone in the house. I can't just go to Plymouth, and I don't even know his exact address."  
  
"Tell you what, Albus, why don't I, Poppy and Georgia go and get him back?" offered Mandy.  
  
"Could you?" asked Dumbledore slowly.  
  
"Of course I could. I am sure that Achilles was ready to come home after Georgia and I told him Poppy's heartbreaking history, just that he, um........."Mandy stopped.  
  
"What?" asked Dumbledore.  
  
"I heard from Poppy that he won't dare to come home." said Mandy quietly.  
  
"Why? This is where he belongs." said Dumbledore in bewilderment.  
  
"He's afraid that Minerva won't forgive him for his stupid actions."  
  
"Minerva sure wants him back now. I am certain that she has forgiven him."  
  
"Well, in that case, Poppy, Georgia and I will set off tomorrow to Plymouth. I think Achilles should be at home, he might have taken some time off to get over," Mandy swallowed. "You-Know-Who's death." she said, realizing that it would be too painful to say the name Athena now.  
  
"Thank you, Mandy. Minerva and I are counting on you, Poppy and Georgia." said Dumbledore sincerely and gave a slight smile.  
  
"Hey, that's what friends are for."  
  
"And Mandy, just bring him back as fast as you can no matter what," said Dumbledore, his smile faded. "I don't want Minerva to suffer any longer."  
  
***  
  
Achilles was lying on his bed without his shirt on. The room was dark and quiet, since the curtains were drew tightly together. The atmosphere suited Achilles's mood, he was not happy since Kennedy, Athena and Wellard died and he needed somewhere peaceful........  
  
Knock knock knock  
  
"What the......." started Achilles as he sat up.  
  
He looked at the clock beside his bed. 9.00am.  
  
"Oh please, leave me alone........" he muttered miserably as he lay back on his bed and covered his head with his pillow.  
  
The knocking on his front door went louder. Achilles ignored it. The knocking went on for a minute before it stopped.  
  
"That's it, just leave me alone. I want to have some peace and quiet to get over my sister and my fellow Aurors' deaths........." thought Achilles while he removed his pillow.  
  
"Hey, do you think he is not at home?" asked someone loudly outside his door.  
  
Mandy?  
  
"Can't be." replied another voice.  
  
Poppy?  
  
"Maybe he is out." suggested the third voice.  
  
That's Georgia.  
  
"That git, he actually went out!" growled Mandy.  
  
"I said maybe!" said Georgia quickly.  
  
Achilles got out of his bed and ran to the door.  
  
***  
  
"Well........" began Mandy when Achilles flung open the door.  
  
The Hogwarts Sisters' eyes widened at his appearance.  
  
Mandy whistled, "Nice body."  
  
Achilles decided to ignore that comment. "Want to come in?"  
  
"No." said the Hogwarts Sisters in unison.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Okay, we will come straight to the point. Achilles, come home with us." said Mandy seriously.  
  
"Why? Look, I can't go back. I don't think Mom will forgive me for being such a jerk. Besides, A-Athena," Like Mandy, Achilles found it hard to say Athena's name. "She just passed away, Mom would be so upset. She doesn't want to see me to increase her misery."  
  
"On the contrary, she does want to see you." said Poppy.  
  
"Badly." added Georgia.  
  
"How badly?" asked Achilles slowly.  
  
Mandy slapped her forehead, hard. "So bad that she coughs up blood, okay?" she said in frustration.  
  
Achilles's mouth dropped open and he grasped Mandy's shoulder. "Blood? What? What happened to Mom? Tell me, Mandy!"  
  
"She's sick. She misses you and Athena so much......." said Mandy.  
  
"And when your father asks her what she wants, she says that she wants to see you." said Poppy.  
  
"Look, Achilles, if you want your mother to die, go ahead and close the door on us. If you want to see your mother, come with us." said Mandy.  
  
Achilles didn't respond.  
  
***  
  
Ding Dong.  
  
"I will go and open the door, okay?" asked Dumbledore gently.  
  
Minerva nodded weakly and hugged Athena's teddy bear. She didn't want to let the bear go, since it reminded her of her daughter.  
  
Dumbledore got up and rushed downstairs. He opened the front door and found only the Hogwarts Sisters. His expression went blank as he looked around for Achilles.  
  
"I guess he doesn't want to come home." said Dumbledore sadly to the Hogwarts Sisters when he realized that Achilles was not there.  
  
"What makes you say that?" asked Mandy suddenly.  
  
Dumbledore just stared at her.  
  
Mandy grinned. "Albus Dumbledore, meet your son."  
  
Straight after she said that, Achilles came out of the side of the house slowly. Dumbledore turned his head to look at Achilles. He examined him carefully from head to toe, wondering whether he was his son.  
  
"Yes, Albus, this is Achilles Dumbledore." said Mandy, as if she had read his mind.  
  
Achilles shifted uncomfortably under his father's gaze.  
  
After a long while, Dumbledore finally smiled and said, "Give me a hug, my son."  
  
Achilles raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Go on, Achilles!" hissed Poppy.  
  
Achilles grinned slowly and rushed forward to his father's outstretched arms. He hugged Dumbledore as tightly as he could, as if he was trying to make up for the past 20 years.  
  
Mandy sniffed and pretended to blow her nose as she watched the father and son embraced each other silently.  
  
"My, look at you, all grown up." said Dumbledore, smiling, after he had released Achilles.  
  
"Albus, who's at the door?" asked Minerva tiredly from upstairs.  
  
Achilles looked into the house at his mother's voice. "Is that........"  
  
"That's your mother, all right." said Dumbledore gently. "Want to go up?"  
  
***  
  
"What's taking Albus so long?" thought Minerva as she waited for her husband to come back.  
  
She closed her eyes and sighed as she held the bear closer. Then she heard someone opened the door.  
  
"Albus, close the door when you come in, will you?"  
  
Dumbledore didn't answer but the sound of the door being closed was heard. He came to her and asked, "Minerva, if Achilles comes home, what would you do?"  
  
"Hug him, that's the first thing I would do." said Minerva truthfully.  
  
"Would you forgive him for he has done?"  
  
"Of course I would. I don't blame him for running away. I actually thought over it ever since Athena found his photo in the attic and I realized how ridiculous I was," With that, Minerva's eyes began to fill with tears and her voice trembled as she continued. "I-I could have break the stupid oath and tell him. But I didn't........now I lost him as well, Albus, we have lost both of our children! One is dead and one has gone to who-knows-where."  
  
Minerva began to weep and Dumbledore handed her the handkerchief.  
  
"So if Achilles comes home, you would forgive and love him like you always do?" he asked, looking as if he was going to kiss her.  
  
Minerva nodded and Dumbledore dried her tears. "Stop crying now, he won't like it." he said gently.  
  
"Who?"  
  
Dumbledore grinned and called to the door, "You can come in now!"  
  
The door slowly open and Achilles came in, looking rather embarrassed. He walked to his parents but he didn't has his head up.  
  
Minerva's mouth dropped open and she turned her head sharply to Dumbledore. "Is that......."  
  
"Our son? Yes."  
  
"Oh Merlin........" said Minerva, still didn't believe that it was her son who was standing beside her husband.  
  
"Lift your head and let your mother have a good look at you, Achilles." said Dumbledore.  
  
Achilles lifted his head. Then his father quickly stood up and pushed him down onto the chair.  
  
"I will come back later." he said shortly and backed out of the room.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Are you really Achilles?" asked Minerva hopefully.  
  
Achilles nodded. Minerva held out her hand and he grasped it. She stared at his bright green eyes, which looked so much like hers.  
  
Realization dawned to her immediately. She gasped, "Oh my, it IS you!"  
  
Achilles smiled, "Yes, it is me, Mom."  
  
He leaned forward and wiped his mother's tears away with his hand. "Oh, don't cry, Mom."  
  
Minerva responded by crying harder. She caught hold of his arms and pulled him closer to hug him.  
  
"It's okay, Mom. I'm here." said Achilles, patting her back.  
  
"Achilles, don't you ever, ever leave us again." said Minerva softly.  
  
"I won't," said Achilles determinedly. "I promise."  
  
As Minerva wept silently on his shoulder, Achilles had made up his mind.  
  
He was going to quit the Aurors Headquarters. 


	27. Edrington Understands

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
Disclaimer 2: Wellard and the other Aurors (except Achilles) come from "Hornblower".  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
NOTE 2: The next few chapters will be dark  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Chapter 27: Edrington Understands  
  
Achilles stared at the Auror Headquarters entrance for a while before he walked in. He hesitated before he marched straight to Pellew's office (sometimes Pellew sat in his office and sometimes he sat outside with the rest of the Aurors to interact with them.)  
  
He had so much in his mind that he bumped into Edrington. "Oops, sorry." he said absentmindedly.  
  
"Achilles? Is that you? I thought Pellew have given you a few weeks off." asked Edrington in bewilderment.  
  
Achilles stared at his best friend for a while before he shook his head. "I'm here to take a permanent leave."  
  
"Permanent......." said Edrington slowly as he quickly tried to figure out what Achilles meant.  
  
Without waiting for him, Achilles walked hurriedly past him.  
  
"Achilles, wait!" called Edrington and followed him.  
  
"Hey, what are Achilles doing?" asked Bush to Edrington in shock when Achilles walked right past his cubicle without even looking at him and Hornblower, (who was talking with Bush at that time).  
  
"Follow me." said Edrington simply and they got up.  
  
They walked behind Achilles and they stopped when Achilles paused in front of Pellew's door.  
  
The door was grand and well-polished. The name "Edward Pellew" was on it in bright, sliver block letters. The letters were glowing, which meant that the Head was in. If the letters were not glowing, it simply meant that the Head was not in the office.  
  
Achilles knocked loudly.  
  
"Come!" ordered a sharp voice.  
  
Achilles opened the door and went in. As he did, the other three Aurors rushed to the door and Edrington put his ear to it.  
  
"Philip, what are you........" started Hornblower.  
  
"Shush!" hissed Edrington.  
  
Hornblower and Bush looked at each other for a while before they pressed their ears to the door too.  
  
***  
  
Once Achilles entered the office, he saw Pellew staring grimly at the two opened files on his table, with an expensive-looking quill in his hand.  
  
One of the files had Kennedy's picture and profile on it while the other one had Wellard's. Achilles saddened at the sight of those files. For a moment, he couldn't accept the fact that they were dead. Two weeks ago they were still alive and now........  
  
Pellew sighed sadly and wrote quickly on Wellard's profile (as if he wanted to get it done as soon as possible). Even though the words were upside down, Achilles could see what he was writing:  
  
Died at the age of 22, on his official first year in the Auror Headquarters.  
  
When he was done, he closed Wellard's file.  
  
"Just a minute, Mr McGonagall, I still have to add something to Mr Kennedy's profile......" said Pellew flatly.  
  
He wrote on Kennedy's profile and Achilles read:  
  
Died at the age of 28, on his official sixth year in the Auror Headquarters.  
  
Pellew put away his quill, closed Kennedy's file and shifted the two files aside.  
  
He looked up at Achilles seriously. "Now before you start, Mr McGonagall, I must say that I am quite surprised that you are back here. I thought that you might want a longer leave since Mr Wellard, Mr Kennedy and your sister are........um.......well, I don't think I should say that word."  
  
Achilles licked his dry lips. Pellew didn't say the word "dead" and Achilles was grateful for that.  
  
"Anyway, are you here to report to me that you are back for work?"  
  
Achilles swallowed. "Um, no." he said, suddenly sounded as if he had not used his voice for a long time.  
  
Pellew blinked. "Come again?"  
  
"No." said Achilles, louder this time.  
  
Pellew stared at him hard as Achilles searched his robes for something. He paused and pulled out a white envelope.  
  
Wordlessly, he handed it to Pellew.  
  
Pellew jumped up from his seat and snatched the envelope anxiously, opened it and took out a letter with Achilles's handwriting. He read through it carefully and his eyes widened as he read. He looked up suddenly at Achilles when he was finished.  
  
Achilles looked back at Pellew with no expression on his face.  
  
"Mr McGonagall, is this some kind of a joke?" demanded Pellew loudly.  
  
Achilles shook his head slightly.  
  
"You can't resign now! Not with this war going on!" roared Pellew.  
  
"I have to, Sir. People died every day in this war. A few days ago we lost Mr Kennedy, Mr Wellard......."  
  
"Oh please, don't remind me......." muttered Pellew.  
  
"And now I have lost my sister too," continued Achilles quietly. "My mother has suffered too much. Her good friends, who were Aurors too, died a long time ago because they were killed in action. Then she lost some of her students and Athena to this surprise attack."  
  
Achilles stopped for a minute before he started again: "Her heart had been broken for too many times. I don't want her to lose me as well, that would kill her. So I was thinking......."  
  
"You were thinking that if you resign, you have a better chance to live longer, isn't it?" interrupted Pellew.  
  
"Yes." mumbled Achilles.  
  
Pellew sighed again, folded the letter and pressed his fingers to his forehead, as if it hurts.  
  
"I don't know what exactly to say about you, Mr McGonagall. You are filial, but a bit stubborn and silly as well."  
  
Achilles didn't say anything in defence.  
  
"Are you sure about this?" asked Pellew in concern after a moment.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"No regrets?"  
  
"No, Sir."  
  
Pellew looked at Achilles and said finally, "Take out your Auror things and give them to me."  
  
Without a second thought, Achilles reached into his robes and took out his Auror badge and gun. He placed them onto Pellew's desk silently. Handsomely, he drew out his sword from his belt slowly and presented it to Pellew.  
  
Pellew took it unwillingly. "The Headquarters will miss you when you are away, Mr McGonagall. And you are welcome to come back for a visit anytime."  
  
Achilles nodded.  
  
Pellew put down the sword and extended his hand to Achilles.  
  
Achilles took it and Pellew shook it.  
  
"Goodbye, Mr McGonagall. I wish all the best to you." said Pellew sincerely.  
  
"Same to you too, Sir."  
  
"You may go."  
  
They let go of each other's hands. Achilles stepped back and saluted to Pellew smartly.  
  
Pellew nodded back.  
  
Achilles turned around and opened the door. Once he did, he saw Bush, Hornblower and Edrington standing there, staring at him with their mouths open.  
  
"What?"  
  
"You resign?" asked Hornblower in disbelief.  
  
"Yes."  
  
The three Aurors didn't say a word.  
  
"Now if you three excuse me, I have things to pack in my cubicle."  
  
Hornblower and Bush were still before they stepped aside slowly to let Achilles pass. Edrington followed Achilles to his cubicle and leaned against the frame as he watched his best friend tidied his things up with his wand.  
  
"Achilles?"  
  
Achilles took out a box under his desk and tossed his files in.  
  
"Achilles, will you stop for a moment and listen to me?"  
  
Achilles paused for a second before he continued.  
  
"Achilles!"  
  
"Look, Philip, I'm busy right now. If you want to talk, see me at the Atrium later."  
  
He ignored Edrington's frown and continued to pack.  
  
Edrington swallowed. "Fine."  
  
***  
  
Edrington and Achilles were sitting together on a bench near the fountain at the Atrium, staring at the fountain silently. Edrington had been quiet since Achilles arrived with his belongings shrunk and kept in his robes (to save him the trouble of getting them around).  
  
"Oh for Merlin's sake, say something!" said Achilles impatiently after 10 minutes.  
  
"Achilles, do you really want to quit your job?" asked Edrington seriously, without looking up at Achilles.  
  
"Um, yes." lied Achilles as he took out a box of cigarettes from his robes. He lit it and started to smoke.  
  
"You're lying." said Edrington flatly.  
  
Achilles took out his cigarette and held it between his fingers but he didn't say anything.  
  
"I had known you for 27 years, you can't hide anything from me." said Edrington coolly.  
  
Achilles took a puff from his cigarette.  
  
"Being an Auror is your biggest dream, how can you give it up like that? Just because of this bloody attack.............."  
  
Achilles yanked the cigarette out of his mouth. "Look, Philip, it isn't only because of this damn surprise attack that I wanted to quit this job."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
Achilles threw his cigarette away. "Philip, have you ever lost someone? Someone that you really love?"  
  
"Erm, no."  
  
"That's it!" Achilles jumped up from the bench. "You don't understand my feelings right now, Philip. You never have the feeling of losing someone that you love before, while I have lost my good friend, my sister, and perhaps my future brother-in-law! I nearly lost my mother too if it isn't for her group of friends!"  
  
"So that's the reason why you quit? Because you don't want to lose any more of your loved ones?" asked Edrington slowly.  
  
"Actually it's the other way around. My mother lost her two friends to this job years ago, she lost Athena too. I don't think she can take it anymore and I understand her feelings. She had lost one of her children. I don't want her to lose the other one."  
  
"That means you." said Edrington.  
  
Achilles nodded. "This job is too dangerous. I think I will do something else to keep my mother from worrying."  
  
"Um, Achilles?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Forgive me, but I don't think you know anything else except catching Dark wizards." said Edrington truthfully.  
  
"With my NEWTs grades, I'm sure I can find some other job." said Achilles confidently.  
  
"What a waste of a good Auror." mumbled Edrington.  
  
"Pardon me from saying this, Philip. But if your mother is like mine, and you have lost someone during this war, you will understand." said Achilles.  
  
"I don't want to think about that." said Edrington as he got up. "So there is no other way to convince you to come back, isn't it?"  
  
Achilles shook his head.  
  
"Well then," said Edrington and held out his hand. "Good luck, pal."  
  
Achilles took his hand and shook it. "By the way, Philip, if your children have done something wrong, don't punish them too harshly. Cherish what you have now or you will regret it."  
  
***  
  
Once Edrington got home in the evening and let the house-elf, Twinky, to take his coat, a 4 year-old girl with curly blond hair ran to him with her arms outstretched, screaming: "DADDY!!!"  
  
He squatted down, caught his daughter neatly and lifted her up in the air.  
  
A 6 year old boy with neat blond hair was in the living room but he remained in his seat when he saw his father.  
  
"Hey there, Diana. How's Daddy's girl today?" asked Edrington affectionately.  
  
Diana Edrington smiled sweetly as she kissed her father on the cheek. "Good."  
  
"And how are you, Alex?" asked Edrington to the living room.  
  
Alexander Edrington didn't say anything.  
  
"Alex?"  
  
"He wrecked your painting this afternoon." said a voice from upstairs.  
  
Edrington looked up and saw his wife coming down the stairs. Isabelle Edrington was a striking beauty with long blond hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing a black long dress, which showed off her figure perfectly.  
  
"What?" exclaimed Edrington, startling his daughter with his exclamation. "Sorry, Diana," he lowered his daughter down. "Go and play somewhere else, okay?"  
  
Diana nodded and ran off to a room nearby.  
  
Edrington turned to Isabelle. "He destroyed my painting?! Which one is it? And how did he break it?!"  
  
"He took one of your guns out in your study to play with it and accidentally fire a shot at your painting. You know, the one with the unicorns on it. Now the painting has a hole on it. Reparo doesn't work on it."  
  
"Oh no, anything but that! That's my favourite!" said Edrington loudly.  
  
He glared at his son, who whimpered in his chair. "ALEXANDER EDRINGTON! YOU COME OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"  
  
Alexander climbed down from his seat slowly and walked timidly towards his father. He had his head low, would not dare to look at Edrington's furious face.  
  
Edrington lowered himself down, until his face levelled with his son's and stared at him, hard. "Alexander, do you know how much does that painting cost?" he asked in a very cold tone that he used for his men sometimes.  
  
Alexander shook his head frantically.  
  
"20,000 Galleons!" roared Edrington. "And you had destroyed it!"  
  
He straightened himself quickly. "Looks like I would have to punish you for that........ now where's my father's cane?"  
  
"Cane? Oh no, Philip, don't cane him, please!" said Isabelle in horror.  
  
"Look Isabelle, if I let him off, he will do it again!" said Edrington and yelled, "Twinky! Get my father's cane here!"  
  
"Philip, I promise that he won't do it again!" exclaimed Isabelle and she squatted down and put her arms around Alexander to protect him.  
  
"He would probably do it behind your back," said Edrington, his tone suddenly changed from furious to gentle. "I can't let him off. He must learn his mistake. Twinky! What's taking you so long?!"  
  
"Here it is, Master!" squeaked Twinky, scampered to him with a long stick with a 2 cm diameter.  
  
"Thank you, you may go." said Edrington coolly. "Move aside, Isabelle."  
  
"No. I won't let you beat him. I shouldn't have told you about the painting."  
  
"I would find out sooner or later even if you didn't tell me anyway. Now move aside, Isabelle, before I lose my temper on you as well!"  
  
"DADDY!" someone cried and Diana dashed out of the room. "Daddy, don't beat Alex!"  
  
She hugged her father's legs tightly to prevent him from walking. "Daddy, Alex is sorry! Don't beat him!"  
  
Diana began to cry even before Edrington could do anything. "Don't beat him........"  
  
Edrington was about to remove his daughter from his legs when he remembered Achilles's words: "Don't punish them too harshly."  
  
He looked at Diana in surprise. She actually knew how to plead for her brother at such a young age......  
  
"Don't beat him, Daddy, please." said Diana, her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"Let Alex off, Philip. Look at Diana, she doesn't want her brother to suffer." said Isabelle quietly.  
  
Edrington turned to Isabelle.  
  
"If you don't want Alex to hate and fear you for the rest of his life, Philip, don't beat him."  
  
Edrington stared at his son, who stared back with fear in his eyes. For some reasons, he suddenly reminded him of Achilles 20 years ago. Didn't he run away to live with him because he thought that his mother was being unreasonable?  
  
He turned his stare to the cane. Did he want his son to be another Achilles and run away because of him? Did he want to lose his son like what Professor Minerva McGonagall nearly did?  
  
A cold feeling swept over him and he threw the cane to the hard white marble floor. He had understood how Minerva felt. "Let go, Diana."  
  
"Will you beat him?" asked Diana.  
  
Edrington shook his head and Diana let go.  
  
He walked to his son, squatted down and said gently but firmly, "Son, don't play with my guns again. It's very dangerous. Do you understand?"  
  
Alex blinked.  
  
"Answer me." said Edrington.  
  
Alex nodded vigorously in his mother's arms.  
  
"Good."  
  
"Apologize to your father, Alex." whispered Isabelle loudly and urgently.  
  
"Sorry, Dad, I'm really sorry that I have ruined your painting." said Alexander as tears began to roll down his cheeks.  
  
"I will try to find ways to mend it. Isabelle, take him to the bathroom for a wash-up."  
  
***  
  
Philip was sitting awake in his dark blue silk pyjamas on his king-size double bed, thinking over the conversation between him and Achilles and the incident that evening.  
  
"Cherish what you have now or you will regret it."  
  
"If you don't want Alex to hate and fear you for the rest of his life, Philip, don't beat him........."  
  
"Philip? Philip? Are you all right?"  
  
His wife's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned around and saw Isabelle sitting beside him in her usual bedtime attire: a deep red sexy nightgown. Even though she was already the mother of two children, she still looked as pretty as she was during their wedding night years ago.  
  
Edrington realized how fortunate he was. He had an elegant, beautiful and loving wife, two kids, and a fortune he had inherited from his father that worth over 50 million Galleons. He was as rich as Lucius Malfoy, no, richer. But still......  
  
"Isabelle, will you still love me if I lost all my money?"  
  
"I didn't marry you for your money, Philip." said Isabelle frankly.  
  
She looked at him seriously. "I marry you because of your heart. Sure, you are posh, sarcastic and a bit stuck-up, but deep down, you are compassionate. You have a quirky sense of humour, you are smart and handsome too."  
  
Edrington reminded his steady look on his face but his heart, he was cheering that Isabelle wouldn't divorce him just because he went out of money.  
  
"Money isn't everything. It can't buy friendship, it can't buy love either. So no matter what, I won't leave you as long as you love me."  
  
"Do you ever mind at the fact that I am an Auror?"  
  
"Sometimes. You are always so busy in the Ministry. You sometimes go aboard for your job. And you always nearly lose your life to it. Take a look at the Hogwarts surprise attack. You hurt your cheek, you lost your colleagues as well. I nearly died when I heard that there are over 50 Aurors killed and hoped frantically that you are not one of them. How I am glad that you are not."  
  
Edrington gazed at his wife for a long time. Now he understood fully why Achilles wanted to quit the job. If he was Achilles, he would resign too.  
  
Suddenly he hugged his wife tightly.  
  
"Philip, what are you......."  
  
"I love you, Isabelle. I will cherish you for the rest of my life."  
  
He added a kiss on her cheek to prove his words.  
  
"And I promise that I won't punish our children too harshly."  
  
"Glad that you have thought it over." said Isabelle, smiling.  
  
She kissed him sweetly and he returned it with every bit of passion he possessed.  
  
***  
  
The next morning, Achilles was packing the last of his things into a box at his apartment, ready to move back to his old home when Dumbledore apparated right in the living room.  
  
"Dad? What are you doing here?" asked Achilles in surprise.  
  
Dumbledore looked pale. "Is your mother here?"  
  
Achilles froze. "What do you mean by that?"  
  
Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Achilles, your mother is missing." 


	28. The Goddess Artemis

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Tabby_4ever, Jestana, Liz O'Brien- See this chapter for answer.  
  
Chapter 27: The Goddess Artemis  
  
Achilles felt as if a knife had pieced through his heart. "Missing?! What do you mean missing?!"  
  
Dumbledore sighed deeply. "She left this on her pillow this morning before I woke up."  
  
He held out a small piece of paper and Achilles took it. He read:  
  
Albus,  
  
I have enough. Although Achilles is back, I'm still depressed about Athena. I decided to go somewhere peaceful and quiet to get away from this place. Don't worry about me, I will be okay.  
  
Minerva  
  
"She didn't say when she would be back!" said Achilles in panic. "Where could she be? Does the Hogwarts Sisters know about this?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded grimly. "Yes, because I have asked them about her before I come here. They are frantic. I searched our summer house too, she's not there."  
  
Achilles hopped up and down in desperation. "Oh, I hope Mom wouldn't do anything rash!"  
  
***  
  
Meanwhile, Minerva was strolling slowly on top of a cliff on an island in Greece (yes, I said Greece) near the edge of the Aegean Sea. She stared remorsefully out at the waves and sighed as she watched them hit the rocks thousands of feet beneath her. The wind blew through her long hair (she didn't tie it up) while she closed her eyes and listened to the sea gulls' cries.  
  
***  
  
At night, Minerva went to the island's hotel and stayed there. Her room was small, the bed looked rather uncomfortable, but she didn't mind. At least there was a balcony facing the sea.  
  
***  
  
The next evening, Minerva climbed up the steps to the top of a hill a few hours later to explode. She just reached the summit when a group of tourists walked past her, chatting in English.  
  
"Isn't it fascinating?"  
  
"Sure is. I wonder if Athena's temple looks as cool as this."  
  
"I'm sure that it looks very grand when it is first built."  
  
"Of course it must be, Artemis is one of the twelve Olympians, you know."  
  
Minerva was still with surprise. Artemis?  
  
"Just a minute, young man!" she called to one of the tourists.  
  
A boy in his late teens turned around. "Yeah?" he asked slowly.  
  
"What did you say about Artemis?" asked Minerva  
  
"That she is one of the twelve Olympians. What? Did I get it wrong? I mean, I have been studying about Greek mythology for ages!" asked the boy in panic.  
  
Minerva felt like laughing. This boy behaved like Achilles when he was younger. "No, I just want to know why you suddenly talks about her."  
  
"O-oh! Because the temple we had just gone into used to be Artemis's temple," said the boy, pointing at a ruined temple not far away. "You should go and see it, it's amazing!" said the boy excitedly.  
  
"Fine, I will." said Minerva, nodding her head.  
  
"Okay, so bye now! And check out Artemis's marble statue! Despite all these years, with all the earthquakes, wars and stuff, most of her body parts manage to stay intact!"  
  
"Yeah, like the Venus de Milo!" added another boy.  
  
"Bye!"  
  
The tourists went down the hill. Once they did, Minerva turned around sharply and went straight towards the temple.  
  
***  
  
By the time Minerva arrived at the temple, it was getting dark.  
  
Minerva stared at the temple in awe. The boy was right, it was amazing. Although most of the walls and roof of the temple had collapsed, it could still stand as a whole. Pillars, big pieces of marble and broken tiles were lying scattered on the white marble floor. Either nobody bothered to clean this place up or they thought that the temple should not be disturbed along with its other pieces.  
  
Minerva stepped up to the long flight of dusty steps that led to the temple itself and looked around the place. She could just imagine what it looked like thousands of years ago: people with robes walking around, talking in Greek, people giving glances at the temple, them kneeling right in front of it, praying hard. A priest standing at an altar in front of the temple, sacrificing an animal (or delicious food) to Artemis..  
  
But now it was already the 21st century, the temple looked as if it was going to fall in one of these days.  
  
Minerva went into the entrance and stopped immediately when she saw the statue of Artemis.  
  
The statue was huge, it was as high as a 2 storeys building. It was completely white and was standing on an enormous platform. Artemis's left arm was gone, but her right arm was and holding an arrow. Some of her toes were gone and there's a rather large crack on her neck. A few chunks of marble had fallen off her short robe, her thighs and chest.  
  
Minerva checked whether if there was anyone else in there with her. When she found that there was no one, she kneeled down.  
  
She put her hands together. "Oh mighty Artemis, please. If you could answer my prayers, I need you to tell me why you take my daughter away.."  
  
***  
  
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew right into the temple. Minerva looked up in shock and she got up immediately. The wind continued to blow wildly, messing up Minerva's hair. The wind was so strong that Minerva felt like she was going to be blown away any moment. Suddenly, the wind stopped as sudden as it came.  
  
She saw something sparkled in front of the statue and she backed away as sliver sparkles went higher and began to form a shape.  
  
Minerva stared with her mouth dropped open as the shape ended up as a woman's form. Then, the sparkles disappeared, leaving a beautiful woman behind.  
  
"Oh Merlin.." Minerva mumbled as she looked at the woman.  
  
The woman was tall, even taller than Albus himself. She had long brown hair, so long that it reached her ankles. Her eyes were brown as well. She was tall and had a perfect body. She was wearing a short, light blue robe which was so short that it only reached her thighs. Her sandals were silver and looked as if they were made yesterday. Her headband was silver as well. She also had a bow and arrows with her.  
  
"Good evening, Minerva." said the woman in a rather charming voice.  
  
"You, you are...."  
  
The woman just stared back and smiled gently.  
  
"Oh Merlin!" exclaimed Minerva and she kneeled. "Minerva McGonagall pays her respects to the Goddess Artemis!"  
  
Artemis gasped and went to Minerva with her arms outstretched. She put her arms around Minerva and tried to get her up. "There's no need to pay your respects to me, dear Minerva!"  
  
"I have to." said Minerva seriously, remaining firmly to the ground. "And I won't get up until you give the command."  
  
"Really, there's no need!" said Artemis quickly.  
  
Minerva didn't respond.  
  
"Oh well, if you insist.." Artemis muttered and rolled her eyes. "You, you may rise."  
  
Minerva got up.  
  
Artemis looked at Minerva carefully. She touched Minerva's cheek gently.  
  
"My dear Queen Cold-As-Ice, look at you, pale and weak. You look like you are going to collapse any moment."  
  
"I will if I carry on thinking about Athena like this." said Minerva, tears once again rolled down her cheeks. "Artemis, why do you take her away? She's only seventeen and there are so many things for her to do.."  
  
"Dear Minerva, it is not I who take her away." said Artemis quietly. "It is Death who takes her away."  
  
Minerva sniffed. "A-and you couldn't..."  
  
As if she had read Minerva's mind, Artemis shook her head. "I could do nothing. Minerva, I love Athena as much as I love my brother Apollo, even though she and I have not met in person. I often watched her on Earth from my place in Mount Olympus. Do you remember what happened when she was born?"  
  
"Yes, there's a shower of shooting stars."  
  
Artemis nodded, satisfied that Minerva remembered. "I am the one who send the shooting stars down, as a celebration to Athena's birth."  
  
Minerva raised an eyebrow. "You?"  
  
Artemis nodded again. "Come, let me show you the whole thing."  
  
Minerva swallowed. "All right."  
  
Artemis waved her hand and a wooden bench appeared on the floor. She held Minerva's hand and led her to the bench. "Let's sit down."  
  
They sat down and once Artemis made sure that Minerva had settled down, she waved her hand again.  
  
A large, rectangular mirror appeared out of nowhere.  
  
"This is my personal mirror. It stores all my memories since the beginning of my birth." introduced Artemis. "Do you want to look at what exactly happened during your daughter's birth? From my point of view?"  
  
Minerva nodded eagerly.  
  
"Fine."  
  
Artemis raised her arms. "Mirror of Seiromem, show me my memory of the second of July, 1986!" she commanded. 


	29. Athena's Birth

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note 1: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
NOTE 2: This chapter contains the birth process of Athena. If you can't take it, skip this chapter.  
  
Rated Pg-13 for language, content and characters' death.  
  
Thank you for your reviews!  
  
Chapter 29: Athena's birth  
  
"When the mist clears, we are going to see myself and everything that I have done on 2nd of July 1986." said Artemis when a silver mist covered up the mirror from the inside.  
  
The mist disappeared, revealing a handsome man with wavy blond hair. His chest was bare. Everything he had was golden. He was wearing a pair of golden shorts. His boots were golden, even his arrows and bow looked as if they were made by gold.  
  
"That's my brother, Apollo." introduced Artemis.  
  
In the mirror, Apollo looked directly at Artemis and said, "Still thinking about Minerva, Sis?"  
  
The Artemis in the memory was wearing a white robe and sliver sandals. She answered, "Yes. Bro, you are the God of prophecy, you can see into the future. Tell me exactly when is she giving birth?"  
  
Apollo closed his eyes and thought for a while. "Tonight."  
  
"Tonight?!" exclaimed Artemis.  
  
Apollo nodded. "But her contractions come in the early afternoon."  
  
"Afternoon? That will kill her! I don't think she can take it."  
  
"Now, Arty, don't worry, she will be all right." said Apollo calmly.  
  
"Well," Artemis stood up. "I better take a look at what Minerva's doing."  
  
The mirror showed the room where Apollo and Artemis were as Artemis moved. There was a big, tall and thin mirror standing alone at the corner of the room.  
  
Artemis walked to it and called, "Mirror to the mortal world, show me Minerva McGonagall Dumbledore!"  
  
White clouds appeared in the mirror and a minute later, it cleared up. Apollo got up from his seat and walked to his sister.  
  
"She looks okay." he commented.  
  
The mirror was showing the 53 year old Minerva reading a book on an armchair, reading a novel in the living room. She looked younger (of course), but had gained a little weight. Her stomach was barely visible under her clothes.  
  
Artemis was relieved to see the Queen Cold-As-Ice being so relax in her armchair.  
  
"Well, I better go now." said Apollo before he left the room.  
  
Artemis just nodded in response. She then summoned a chair and sat down, continuing to watch over Minerva.  
  
Time seemed to pass quickly; Minerva remained reading her book without moving an inch. Artemis was about to fell asleep when she noticed that Minerva was frowning slightly. She then coughed a little and gripped onto the armchair. Artemis turned her head sharply to the sundial in her room. 1pm.  
  
"Uh oh." she muttered.  
  
Then she saw Albus entering the room. He froze for a moment before he rushed forward, asking "Minerva? Minerva, are you all right?"  
  
Minerva whispered something that Artemis couldn't hear. Then Albus carried her up in his arms and Disapparated.  
  
***  
  
"Bring her here!" said Poppy quickly in the school hospital wing.  
  
Albus put Minerva down onto one of the beds. Beads of perspiration had appeared on Minerva's forehead. Albus was about to wipe them away when Poppy called, "Albus, you better go and get Mandy and Georgia."  
  
Albus hesitated and looked at Minerva.  
  
"Just go, Albus. I will be fine." said Minerva weakly but firmly.  
  
***  
  
"Oh Merlin, Minerva, are you okay?" asked Mandy anxiously.  
  
"No......" said Minerva.  
  
"I afraid she won't be giving birth until night falls." said Poppy.  
  
"Night falls?!" exclaimed the rest of the Hogwarts Sisters, including Minerva.  
  
Poppy nodded slowly.  
  
"Oh hell!" cursed Minerva suddenly when pain took over her again. "I can't imagine that I will be experiencing this sort of pain again!"  
  
"Albus, I think you better go outside and wait......" started Poppy quietly.  
  
"No, I will stay here." said Albus determinedly and rushed towards Minerva.  
  
He wiped away her sweat. "Don't worry, Minerva. You will be just fine."  
  
***  
  
Artemis licked her lips nervously as she watched Minerva through the mirror. She looked paler and weaker as the time went by.  
  
"Now that looks rather painful." she said as Minerva clutched onto the bed sheets tightly and bit her lip hard from crying. "And I can't even do anything about it!"  
  
***  
  
"Minerva, don't bit your lip, you are going to hurt yourself!" cried Georgia when Minerva relaxed a little.  
  
"Yeah, go ahead and yell, we don't mind." said Mandy.  
  
A few minutes later, Minerva did really scream as the contraction came again.  
  
***  
  
Poppy looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 8pm.  
  
"Aren't she ready yet?" asked Albus.  
  
Poppy silently made a circle with her finger, which meant that Albus was required to turn his back to Minerva. Curiously, Albus just turned around.  
  
A rustle sound of material was heard and Poppy reported, "Not in next two hours."  
  
"Two hours?" asked Minerva tiredly.  
  
"At least I think so. In the mean time, do you want anything to eat?"  
  
Minerva shook her head and took in a sharp breath when a wave of contractions came. "I, I just want to give birth as soon as possible."  
  
"But you don't eat anything, you don't have any energy to push." protested Georgia.  
  
"I don't care!" Minerva suddenly snapped when she felt pain in the lower part of her body again. "AH!"  
  
Poppy looked up at the clock again. 8.01pm. "Hey, I think you will be ready in an hour or less, since your contractions gap is getting shorter."  
  
"Great." mumbled Minerva.  
  
***  
  
"Albus, you should wait outside, she is due giving birth in any moment." said Poppy after ½ hour.  
  
"No, I want him......." began Minerva when she groaned in pain.  
  
"Go. Please." said Poppy, firmly as she ordered Minerva to spread her legs.  
  
Silence.  
  
"Fine, I will simply wait outside." said Albus and went outside before Minerva could say anything.  
  
A few seconds went, Minerva looked as if she was going to collapse any moment.  
  
"This is worse than the time when I gave birth to Achilles!" she complained.  
  
"Okay, I think you are ready." said Poppy, ignoring Minerva's complaints.  
  
Mandy went out of the hospital wing for a moment and came back with a long towel. She pulled it with her two hands and folded it into half. She then twisted it to make it looked like a stick and offered it to Minerva.  
  
"Here, bite this while you are at it." said Mandy gently.  
  
Minerva said something that Artemis couldn't hear again and bite onto the towel.  
  
***  
  
Artemis clutched her hands tightly and swallowed when Poppy took a deep breath and said, "Minerva, when I say so, push as hard as you can, okay?"  
  
Minerva, who couldn't talk with the towel in her mouth, simply nodded.  
  
Mandy and Georgia looked at each other and the two of them held Minerva's hands. Mandy held the left while Georgia held the right.  
  
"Good luck, Minerva." said Mandy sincerely.  
  
"You can do it." encouraged Georgia.  
  
Poppy smiled at her three friends before she said, "Minerva, you, you can push now."  
  
Minerva responded by lowered her chin as low as possible and lifted her behind as she started pushing.  
  
"Come on, Minerva, that's it......" said Poppy slowly. "Now try to push a bit harder."  
  
Minerva sank her teeth onto the towel hard and tried to push harder. Unlike other labours, Athena's birth process was quieter, since Minerva was biting on the towel to prevent herself from screaming her head off. However, Minerva's muffled screams could be heard sometimes and they sent chills down the Hogwarts Sisters' spines.  
  
"I rather take away the towel and let Minerva to scream as loud as she wants." said Mandy.  
  
"You can't, she must have the towel because you can't scream when giving birth. And if you take the towel off, she might bite her tongue or something." protested Georgia.  
  
Soon, Poppy was heard yelling excitedly, "I see the head! I see the head! Now just a little longer, Minerva, bear with it!"  
  
Minerva tightened her grip on Mandy's and Georgia's hands before she continued with the labour. At 9.00pm, Minerva had become a mother, again.  
  
"Ah......." said Poppy softly and happily when she received the crying baby girl. "Minerva, it's a girl!"  
  
No response.  
  
"Minerva?"  
  
Poppy looked over Minerva's legs and found Mandy frantically took away the towel from Minerva's mouth. Minerva's eyes were close. Her face was wet with sweat and was pale as chalk.  
  
"Oh no, Minerva, wake up!" cried Georgia and gently slapped Minerva's face. "Poppy, she has fainted!"  
  
Poppy's eyes widened. "Get Albus, quick!"  
  
As Georgia went out, Poppy put the baby down and started to clean her up. Mandy, on the hand, was lowering down Minerva's legs and trying to wake her up.  
  
***  
  
"Oh my Gods........" mumbled Artemis when Apollo came in. "Apollo, Minerva has fainted!"  
  
Apollo came over and looked over Artemis's shoulder at the mirror. "Don't worry, she's just over-exhausted. She will wake up after an hour."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Apollo nodded. "By the way, some younger Gods and I are resting on the highest point of Mt Olympus, want to come?"  
  
Artemis shook her head. "Not unless I know Minerva and her baby are okay."  
  
Apollo shrugged. "Suit yourself."  
  
Apollo went out and Artemis continued to look at the mirror, where Albus held Minerva's hand.  
  
An hour later, she sighed in relief when she saw Minerva stirred a little and opened her eyes slowly.  
  
***  
  
Minerva opened her eyes and blinked.  
  
"Minerva?"  
  
Minerva blinked again. She then turned her head to the side and saw Albus sitting beside the bed. "A-Albus?"  
  
"Thank the Goddess Artemis, you are okay!" said Albus happily.  
  
***  
  
"I didn't do anything." said Artemis guiltily when she heard that.  
  
***  
  
Minerva smiled a little before her smile vanished completely and she looked around quickly. "W-where's our baby?"  
  
"Wait." said Albus and called, "Poppy! Minerva has awakened!"  
  
Soon, Poppy came in with a bundle of blankets. "Minerva, you are okay!" she said and walked to her steadily. "Here's your new baby!"  
  
She handed the baby to Minerva. "Here you go. She's so sweet......"  
  
Minerva took over the baby girl and gently pulled the edge of a blanket aside to see her daughter. The baby was fast asleep. She looked at Albus affectionately and smiled again.  
  
"Isn't she beautiful?" she whispered and Albus nodded.  
  
"What are you going to call her?" asked Poppy quietly so that the baby won't wake up.  
  
"Athena." said Dumbledore immediately.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"One, I think it is rather amusing to have her named after the Greek Goddess Athena, since her mother is named after the Roman counterpart of Athena, Minerva. Two, remember what happen in 1950?"  
  
"Oh, that." said Poppy and smiled at Albus.  
  
Minerva heard their conversation and looked at Athena. She was still sleeping.  
  
Minerva kissed her forehead and whispered tenderly, "Sleep tight, Athena."  
  
***  
  
"Aw." Artemis said as she watched Minerva kissing Athena. "Well, time to celebrate!"  
  
She went out of her room and practically skipped to the highest point of Mount Olympus, where the younger Gods were.  
  
When she arrived, she saw Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, flirting with Apollo. Ares, the God of War, was playing cards with Hermes, the messenger of the Gods and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and War was sitting on a fluffy bench, playing with her owl Bubo.  
  
Artemis walked to Athena and sat down beside her. "Hi."  
  
Athena looked at Artemis and smiled, "Hi. You sound cheery, what's the news?"  
  
"Oh, just that one of my favourite mortals has given birth to a baby girl just now." said Artemis happily.  
  
"Really?" said Athena absentmindedly as she continued to play with her owl. "What's the baby's name?"  
  
Artemis grinned. "Athena."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"I said, the baby's name is Athena."  
  
Athena paused and turned her head sharply to Artemis. "You're joking."  
  
"No, I'm not. Ask Apollo if you don't believe me." said Artemis.  
  
"Why does a mortal named her daughter after me?"  
  
"What do you think?" asked Artemis and she stood up. "Now if you excuse me, I am going to celebrate her successful birth."  
  
"How?" asked Athena.  
  
Artemis smiled again and went to the edge of the cloud. She looked around before she raised her hands up high and released a shower of silver shooting stars.  
  
***  
  
"Minerva, look!" cried Mandy excitedly at the window.  
  
Minerva turned her attention from Athena to the window and gasped softly.  
  
The night sky was filled with silver shooting stars. They flew down to earth so fast at a point that the sky looked as if it was pouring sliver rain.  
  
"It's beautiful......." muttered Georgia and Poppy nodded in agreement.  
  
"Just like my wife and daughter." said Albus truthfully and Minerva blushed.  
  
She recovered quickly and sighed at the beautiful scene that Artemis had created. 


	30. Epilogue

Disclaimer: See "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"  
  
To flamers: I don't take kindly to flames so get out of here, if you know what's good for you.  
  
Note: This is a sequel to "Stories of the Hogwarts Sisterhood"; taken place several months later during Easter holidays, so read that first.  
  
Thank you for the reviews!  
  
Chapter 30: Epilogue  
  
Artemis sighed and waved. The Mirror of Seiromem disappeared. It was already 1am in the morning.  
  
"Now you know why I sent the shooting stars?" asked Artemis to Minerva. "I'm the one who sent the wind too when Athena died."  
  
Minerva nodded slowly, trying hard not to cry at the memory. But she failed and she started sobbing again.  
  
Artemis swallowed and embraced Minerva like a mother hugging her daughter. "There, there, don't cry, dear Minerva."  
  
"I can't stop thinking about her." said Minerva, her voice muffled. "I didn't expect that she would be gone so suddenly."  
  
"Neither do I," said Artemis softly.  
  
She released Minerva and wiped her tears away. "But Minerva, you must move on. Yes, it might be hard to forget about it at first when someone you love dies. However, you must get on with your life sooner or later."  
  
Minerva didn't respond.  
  
"Minerva. Promise me that you will go home today."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well, your son has quitted the Auror Headquarters. And he is worried about you. So are your husband and your friends."  
  
"Achilles has quitted the Headquarters?" asked Minerva in disbelief. "But why?"  
  
"He thinks that he would have a better chance living if he does something else and you won't have to worry that he will die suddenly like Athena." said Artemis.  
  
Minerva's mouth dropped open. "He can't quit! He, he doesn't know anything else besides catching Dark Wizards! And being an Auror has been his dream since he was in his 5th year in Hogwarts! Or is it his 3rd year? Anyway, he can't just give it up like that!"  
  
"But he did it for you." protested Artemis.  
  
"I know." said Minerva quietly.  
  
She got up from the bench. "I must go back."  
  
"Go ahead." said Artemis and she kissed Minerva's forehead. "And good luck for your future."  
  
Minerva wanted to rush out of the temple when she remembered something. She turned around, held Artemis's hand, lowered herself a little and kissed the back of it. "Minerva bids goodbye to the Goddess Artemis."  
  
"Oh please, I told you that there's no need......" started Artemis.  
  
***  
  
Two hours later, Minerva was back in England. She walked back to her place but when she arrived at her street, she found out that her house's lights were still on. She looked at her wristwatch. 4am.  
  
"Albus is still awake." she muttered and she walked to her house.  
  
She then put her luggage down near the door and was about to open it when the door was flung open by Dumbledore. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked tired.  
  
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore. "Minerva, is that you?"  
  
Minerva nodded slowly. "Yes, Albus, I'm back."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Oh Merlin, I miss you so much!" cried Dumbledore and he hugged her as tight as he could. "Where have you been?"  
  
"Greece." said Minerva.  
  
"I'm so glad that you are back," said Dumbledore after he released his wife and kissed her. "Wait, I'm going to get Achilles......"  
  
"Achilles is here?"  
  
"Yes. He has been here since you disappeared."  
  
"Good, I'm going to talk to him. Albus, do you know that he has quitted the Auror Headquarters?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What did you say to him when you found out?"  
  
"Hmm........"  
  
"Oh never mind. Achilles!" called Minerva.  
  
Achilles came down the stairs. He looked tired as well but he smiled when he saw Minerva. "Mom, you're home!"  
  
He rushed forward and Minerva let him to hug her for a while before she said, "Now Achilles, what is this about you quitting the Auror Headquarters?"  
  
Achilles's smiled faded. "I thought you will be happy if I quit."  
  
"Not really." said Minerva.  
  
Achilles raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Albus, would you mind leaving us alone for a while?" asked Minerva sweetly.  
  
Dumbledore nodded and left.  
  
"Look Achilles, being an Auror is your greatest dream, you mustn't give it up like that." said Minerva seriously.  
  
"But Mom......"  
  
"Yes, I know that you did it for me, but Achilles, what else do you know besides catching dark wizards?" asked Minerva.  
  
Achilles's mouth opened to speak but then he closed it.  
  
"Um, nothing, I guess." he mumbled.  
  
"Look Achilles, I'm okay now," lied Minerva. "so you don't have to worry about me. I know it is rather weird for me to encourage you to go back to work."  
  
"Too weird." said Achilles.  
  
Minerva nodded. "I understand."  
  
"But don't you worry that I will die suddenly like William Potter does?" asked Achilles.  
  
Minerva sighed and put her hand on Achilles's shoulder. "Of course I do."  
  
"Then why......."  
  
"But I hate to see you giving up your beloved job for me. Sure, you will die in this job sooner or later, but if that day really comes, I will grief for you and when I'm over with it, I will look back and cherish all the best times that we have together."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Achilles, promise Mom that you will go to bed now and when you wake up, you will go to the Auror Headquarters and take your job back."  
  
Silence again.  
  
"Answer me, Achilles."  
  
Achilles nodded. "Yes Mom."  
  
Minerva smiled. "Oh yes, and promise me one thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Find a girlfriend, will you? You are not getting younger, you know. Your sister dies with her lover and how old is she? Seventeen!"  
  
Achilles groaned. "Mom!"  
  
Minerva grinned. "Just kidding. Now all I want you to do is to take your job back and be happy. You can continue to live in Plymouth if you want to."  
  
Achilles thought for a while. "Nah, I will stay here."  
  
He putted his arm around Minerva's shoulders. "This is where I belong."  
  
***  
  
Dumbledore waited until Minerva had came out of Achilles's old bedroom (which had already been cleaned up by Achilles himself) and asked, "Minerva?"  
  
"Sh," whispered Minerva, putting a finger to her lips. "Achilles is sleeping."  
  
She looked into the room and satisfied that Achilles was still sleeping in his bed. She closed the door quietly and motioned Dumbledore to go downstairs with her.  
  
Once they arrived downstairs and sat down, Dumbledore asked seriously, "Minerva, I know it is not good to overhear a conversation but I have heard the conversation just now. Are you sure that you want Achilles to get back his job?"  
  
Minerva sighed, "Albus, you are the one who taught me how to let go. Achilles has grown up, if he wants to be an Auror, let him be."  
  
Dumbledore raised one of his eyebrows.  
  
"Well, I admit that I am a bit glad at the fact he quitted his job for me, who wouldn't want their children to live as long as possible?"  
  
Dumbledore nodded a little.  
  
"I know he is being filial to give up his job. But he will be unhappy if he does something else after 19 years of being an Auror. And I don't want that. I just want him to be happy in his life."  
  
Pause.  
  
"And I'm sure that Athena will think the same way," added Minerva quietly. "If she is still alive."  
  
Her husband didn't respond.  
  
"Now," Minerva got up. "If you excuse me, I'm going to bed. I have not slept since yesterday."  
  
"Minerva," said Dumbledore suddenly. "Are you still upset about Athena?"  
  
Minerva was still for a while before she said, "Yes, I still am but I hope that I could get over her death soon."  
  
After that, she went upstairs. She walked into her and Dumbledore's room, and to the bed. She noticed that the bed was neatly made, as if nobody had touched it since she had left (knowing her husband, he had probably made the bed during the morning of her 'disappearance' and didn't sleep in it since) and Athena's teddy bear was still sitting on her pillow.  
  
She picked the teddy bear up, stared at it and immediately, Athena's cheerful face appeared in her mind. She sat down at the bed and hugged it as tightly as possible.  
  
***  
  
Edrington was writing at his desk at the Auror Headquarters when someone threw a paper ball to his head.  
  
"Ouch! Who the hell..........." he asked as he turned around and saw Achilles looking at him over the wall of the cubicle behind him.  
  
"Achilles?"  
  
"Hey there, pal. Working hard, aren't you?" asked Achilles as he folded his arms.  
  
Edrington didn't respond..  
  
"What?" asked Achilles, grinning.  
  
He left the cubicle and came over to Edrington's. "Too surprised to see me?"  
  
Edrington examined him from head to toe with his eyes. Achilles was wearing his favourite deep green cloak (which brought out the colours of his eyes) and his.......Auror badge.  
  
Edrington jumped up from his seat and with his eyes fixed onto Achilles's badge. "Achilles! You, you are........"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm back."  
  
Edrington frowned. "But what about your mom?"  
  
"Surprisingly, it is her who wants me to come back."  
  
Edrington raised both of his eyebrows.  
  
"Long story." said Achilles.  
  
"Hey there, Achilles!" said Hornblower cheerfully. "What brings you here?"  
  
Bush was behind Hornblower with rolls of parchment in his arms.  
  
"Work." said Achilles and Edrington together.  
  
"Work?" asked Bush.  
  
"I'm back to work!" announced Achilles cheerfully.  
  
"What?" exclaimed Hornblower and Bush dropped his rolls of parchment.  
  
"That's wonderful! I can't imagine the Auror Headquarters without you, Achilles!" said Hornblower happily.  
  
Bush nodded in agreement as he picked his things up.  
  
"I'm starting work again tomorrow." said Achilles.  
  
"Cool. This calls for a celebration. How about a ride in my yacht after work?" asked Edrington.  
  
"Bingo!" cried Achilles, Hornblower and Bush.  
  
"Well, then we better get back to work so that we can have fun later!" said Bush and Hornblower nodded.  
  
"Right, see you then!"  
  
After Hornblower and Bush left, Achilles thought of something and turned to Edrington, "By the way, Philip, I'm moving back to my old home and I have a problem with the statue of the Goddess Athena."  
  
"Yeah, what about it?"  
  
"I don't think I should keep that. That Goddess looks like my sister and I don't want my mother to be reminded of her whenever she looks at the statue. So I was wondering whether you want to have it."  
  
Edrington smiled brightly. "Of course I want to! You know, I was thinking about what to give my wife for her birthday next week, she has enough jewellery, clothes and accessories to last her the whole life. But I forgot that she likes Greek mythology as well! Yeah, I will take the statue and give it to her. She will love it! Thanks, Achilles!"  
  
"No problem."  
  
"I owe you for dinner tonight."  
  
"There's no need."  
  
"I must treat you dinner, not only you have solved my problem, you have taught me one thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
Edrington continued smiling. "You taught me to cherish what I have now."  
  
He stretched out his hand to Achilles. Achilles took it and he shook it.  
  
"Welcome back, pal. I'm glad that you have come back."  
  
Achilles smiled back. "And I'm glad to be back."  
  
***  
  
Achilles stood up straight at the Edringtons' yacht's bow and inhaled the sea air deeply as he held on to the rail. He exhaled and looked at his friends. All of them were standing fearlessly near him, staring out at the sea and felt the wind blowing at their faces.  
  
He smiled happily as he breathed in the sea air deeply again and closed his eyes. He felt peaceful now. He had his best friends around him, he had his job back, he was moving back to his old home where he really belonged. And he had finally made up with his mother.  
  
Athena could finally rest in peace.  
  
He opened his eyes and admired the magnificent view of the sea as the yacht sailed towards the sunset.  
  
The End 


End file.
